The winner of the junior boys’ singles at the Cleveland Junior 4 Star Championships played at Middlesbrough Sports Village, was the fourth seed Gavin Yuan from Scotland. 

Gavin was born in Scotland but is of Chinese origin. He has spent some time in recent years with his parents in China, but has returned to Scotland and is now clearly a significant player in the British junior scene. 

Yuan (pictured above receiving his prize from Alan Ransome OBE, Chairman of Cleveland Table Tennis Association) beat Toby Ellis in the quarter-finals in four close games, Adam Dennison at deuce in the fifth in the semi-finals and then top seed Ben Piggott by 3-1 in a tight final.

The event was the third of six events in which results count towards a leaderboard which shows how athletes are progressing towards qualification for the Cadet and Junior categories at the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet, U17 & Junior National Championships. Winners automatically qualify (if eligible), and points are awarded for certain finishing positions – click here to see the latest leaderboards.

Photos by Brenda Stephenson

The junior girls’ singles was won by Newcastle University student, Scarlett Anders, who beat Darcy Taylor 3-1 in the semi-final and then Sienna Jetha in the final by 3-0, Jetha having beaten Ella Pashley 3-1 in her semi-final.

The junior boys’ team event was won by the Ormesby team of Ben Piggott and Felix Thomis, who defeated a strong Urban team of Joseph Hunter and James Hamblett by 3-0 in the final,  Piggott beating Hunter by 3-1 and Thomis beating Hamblett deuce in the fifth. 

Urban did very well to beat Grantham College B team of Toby Ellis and Daniel Goitom 3-1 in the semi-finals, whilst Ormesby beat Grantham College A by 3-1 with Ben Piggott beating Gabriel Schogger and Joseph Dennison, also 3-1. Dennison beat Felix Thomis at deuce in the fifth but the Ormesby players won the doubles.

The junior girls’ team event was won by London Academy who beat Ormesby 3-0 in the final in three close matches, Sienna Jetha beating Ella Pashley 3-2, Ching Sum Pang beating Scarlett Anders 3-1 and the Academy pair winning the doubles in five. 

In the semi-finals, London Academy beat Wensum 3-1 whilst Ormesby beat Grantham College by the same score.

U17 events

The U17 boys’ singles was won by the No 2 seed, Isaac Kingham from Grantham, who beat his team-mate Joseph Dennison, the No 3 seed in the final in straight games. In the other semi-final, Kingham beat Francesco Bonato in straight games.

The U17 girls’ was won by Ella Pashley who beat Bethany Ellis 3-1 in the final. Pashley did well beating Mauli Shah in the quarters and Mia Longman in the semi-final. Ellis beat top seed Sienna Jetha by 3-1 in the semi-final.

Cadet events

Leo Nguyen of Joola Plymouth followed up his success in the team event by winning the cadet boys’ singles, beating top seed Aarif Li of Warwickshire by 3-1 in the final. Nguyen beat Kai Lun Chow from Archway Peterborough by straight games in the semi-final while Li beat Pablo Ramirez Rioja of Hertfordshire.

The cadet girls’ singles was won by third seed Ching Sum Pang of London Academy who beat her team-mate Sienna Jetha by 3-0 in the semi-final. Ching won by the same score against Eva Eccles in the final. Eccles defeated second seed Alisha Dutta by 3-1 in her semi-final.

The cadet boys’ team event was won by the Nguyen twins representing Joola Plymouth, who beat London Academy by 3-1 in the final. Leo won both his singles and combining with Hugo won the doubles at deuce in the fifth. 

In the semi-finals, Plymouth beat Fusion by 3-1, whilst London Academy defeated Grantham College 3-0.

The cadet girls’ team event was won by London Academy’s Mauli Shah and Alisha Dutta, who beat their own B team of Assil Sarai and Chi Yun Pang by 3-0.

U13 events

The U13 boys’ singles was won by Aarif Li from Warwickshire who beat Pablo Ramirez Rioja from Hertfordshire by 3-1 in the final. Li won his semi-final by the same score against fourth seed Zihan Lin of Cambridgeshire, whilst Ramirez Rioja beat sixth seed Dimitar Dimitrov from Essex in straight games.

The U13 girls’ singles was won by Lok Yiu Lam of Surrey who beat Amber Louise Lemmon, the second seed from Archway by 3-1. Lok’s big win was in the opening round when she beat top seed Hannah Saunders in the fifth.

U11 events

The U11 boys’ singles was won by second seed Dimitar Dimitrov from Essex who beat top seed Li Hao Chen of Lincolnshire in three straight games.

The U11 girls’ singles was won by Amber Louise Lemmon who won the four-player round robin group without losing a game. She beat the player in second position, Cindy Xiao of Cambridgeshire, 11-4, 11-6, 11-1.