England retained both the boys’ and girls’ team titles, while Jayden Xuan Chen and Cindy Xiao took the individual titles at the Primary Schools International, hosted by Sport Wales National Sports Centre in Cardiff.

The England girls’ squad comprised Xiao, Phoebe O’Brien, Alexia-Bianca Ciobanica and Mindy Gao, while the boys’ team was Chen, Saisurya Prasanna, Zacharia Sarri and Oliver Glowacki.

The girls got off to an impressive start in the team competition with a dominant 10-0 victory over Guernsey. All singles and both doubles matches ended 3-0 in England’s favour, giving the team a strong boost of confidence on the first day.

The boys had a more challenging opening match against Ireland. Jayden and Sai each secured comfortable 3-0 wins against Peter Cao and Adam Hedderly respectively. However, Oliver faced a tough opponent in Andrew Lowe, losing 2-3 after a gritty contest, with Lowe’s long pimples causing problems. Zacharia secured a 3-0 win over Ryan Li.

The two doubles proved to be crucial; Jayden & Sai triumphed 3-1 over Adam & Andrew, while Oliver & Zacharia mounted a remarkable comeback, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to win in the deciding game. With renewed confidence, the boys dominated the second set of singles, sweeping the remaining matches for a resounding 9-1 victory.

In round 2, the boys faced Guernsey, made up of Luke Evans, Daniel Martin, Samuel Cox and Connor Osbourne. The English team were in dominant form from the start. Jayden opened with a win over Daniel, followed by Sai who defeated Luke. Zacharia cruised past Connor, and Oliver completed the singles sweep with a victory over Samuel.

In doubles, Jayden & Sai teamed up to beat Luke & Daniel 3-0, while Zacharia & Oliver also triumphed 3-0 over Samuel and Connor. All reverse singles went England’s way, to secure a 10-0 win.

The girls’ team did not play in this round due to an odd number of teams in the girls’ team event.

The girls played host nation Wales (Gracie David, Sophie Williams, Pollyanna Protheroe and Ezgi Dion) in round 3. England continued their strong form, with the English girls consistently coming out on top, securing a 10-0 win.

The boys faced Jersey (Jonty Porter, Evan Nees, Rory Quinn, James Cleverly). The first four singles matches were all won by England. Jayden defeated Evan, Sai overcame Jonty, Zacharia triumphed over James, and Oliver beat Rory.

In the doubles, Jayden & Sai, as well as Zacharia & Oliver, both won 3-0. Jayden then faced a tough challenge against Jonty, who displayed powerful strokes, beating Jayden 3-1, handing Jersey their only point. Sai, Zacharia, and Oliver won their reverse singles, securing a comprehensive 9-1 win for England.

The England girls team delivered a superb performance in their round 4 match, securing a flawless 10-0 victory over Jersey. The team were simply outstanding, showcasing their exceptional skill, professionalism, and teamwork throughout the encounter. Each player picked up two singles wins, demonstrating their individual strength and consistency, and teaming up to secure both doubles.

In their penultimate round, the boys’ team faced Wales in a highly competitive match. Jayden kicked off the singles with a solid 3-0 victory over Dylan Williams, while Sai followed with another 3-1 win, this time against Oliver Harvey. Zacharia delivered a dominant performance, beating Toby Young 3-0. Oliver had a tough battle against Jenson Denton-Smith, battling back from 0-2 down to force a dramatic five-setter. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Oliver narrowly lost in the deciding set.

However, England bounced back in the doubles, with both pairs securing victories, giving England a commanding 5-1 lead. In the reverse singles, the momentum shifted slightly. Oliver claimed victory over Jayden, but Sai continued his impeccable form, maintaining his 100% singles record with a 3-0 win over Dylan. Zacharia fought hard against Jenson but was edged out 10-12 in a thrilling deciding set. Oliver, however, clinched a crucial 3-1 win over Toby to secure a 7-3 victory for England.

In the final round, both the girls’ and boys’ teams faced Scotland, and both delivered exceptional performances to close out the competition. The England girls continued their flawless run with a commanding 10-0 victory. Cindy and Phoebe each secured wins over Anne Chan and Mariah Cassino, respectively, and they went on to win the doubles in straight sets. Alexia and Mindy followed suit, dominating their matches against Lucy Stakim and Chloe Lee, also claiming victory in the doubles.

The girls’ performance throughout the competition was outstanding, with a gold medal secured, dropping just one set across all four team matches, a truly remarkable achievement.

The England boys team also won the gold medal with a 10-0 win against Scotland. Jayden and Sai beat James Huang and Boyd Telfer. Zacharia and Oliver beat Leo Stakim and Inniyan Jayaraj, although Oliver had a five-set battle, beating Leo 11-9 in the deciding set.

England dominated both doubles, maintaining their 100% doubles record throughout the competition. In the reverse singles England won all four matches, with Jayden beating James, Sai dominating against Boyd, Zacharia beating Leo and Oliver beating Inniyan, sealing their gold medal with another flawless performance.

Thank you to Teresa Bennett and Dave Pilkington for their support as non-playing captains.

Final Team Positions

Girls: 1 England, 2 Guernsey, 3 Scotland, 4 Wales, 5 Jersey

Boys: 1 England, 2 Ireland, 3 Wales, 4 Scotland, 5 Jersey, 6 Guernsey

In the girls’ individual event, all four English girls advanced as winners from their respective round-robin groups, leading to a quarter-final match between Mindy Gao and Alexia-Bianca Ciobanica. It was a tightly contested battle, with Mindy ultimately prevailing 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-7, and 12-10).

In the semi-finals, Cindy Xiao secured a 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-2) victory against Isla Bretel from Guernsey, while Mindy triumphed over her teammate Phoebe O’Brien in a close match, winning 3-2 (11-3, 2-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4).

Cindy’s outstanding performance in the final earned her the gold medal at the Primary Schools Internationals, as she defeated Mindy 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-7) in the final.

In the boys’ individual event, Saisurya Kumar and Zachari Sarri both emerged at the top of their round-robin groups. Jayden Chen finished second after losing to Andrew Lowe from Ireland, whose effective long-pimples style posed significant challenges.

Oliver Glowacki took third place in his group, facing defeats from Oliver Harvey (Wales) 1-3 and Ryan Li (Ireland) 2-3, but still qualified for the consolation event and demonstrated his determination by defeating Samuel Cox (Guernsey), Evan Ness (Jersey) and Toby Young (Wales) to take consolation gold.

In the first round of the main event, Jayden and Zachari faced off in a competitive and attacking match, with Jayden winning 3-1 (11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 16-14). He then went on to beat Jenson Denton-Smith in the quarter-finals with a score of 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-9). Sai also advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 12-10) win over Adam Hedderly (Ireland).

In the semi-finals, Sai edged out Luke Evans (Jersey) 3-2 ((11-8, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7), while Jayden narrowly defeated Oliver Harvey (Wales) 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7), despite Oliver needing a medical timeout midway through the fourth set.

The all-English final featured another closely fought match, with Jayden emerging victorious 3-1 (12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 13-11).

Congratulations to all the players who represented the England Schools team.