An Epping Forest school pupil is celebrating winning a gold medal at the Jack Petchey London Schools’ Individual Table Tennis Competition.

Adam Alibhai, aged 11, won the title by overcoming Max Radiven 3-1 (11-9, 2-11, 11-9, 11-7) in the final. He had previously defeated Parsa Yamin 3-1 (11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9) in the semi-finals.

More than 150 players competed across boys’ and girls’ events in four age groups, each comprising group and knockout stages. The competitors had previously made it through qualifying tournaments in five London areas and Essex.

The Chigwell School pupil said: “I kept focused. I was expecting to finish second or first and was ready for a tough match in the final because Max is a very good player, so it was definitely good to win.”

Alibhai went straight from the finals to Austria, where he was competing in his first international event at the WTT Youth Contender in Linz.

From there, he returns to compete in the Table Tennis England Mark Bates Ltd National Cadet, Under-17 & Junior Championships at the weekend.

The Jack Petchey Schools Table Tennis Championships is a partnership between the Jack Petchey Foundation and Table Tennis England to get more young people playing the sport at school for fun and also to compete. It comprises individual and team competitions which are open to boys and girls in full-time education in London and Essex. The partnership also includes the donation of indoor and outdoor table tennis tables to schools and youth clubs in London and Essex.