Welwyn Garden City’s James Hamblett has been selected to represent England at the European Youth Table Tennis Championships in Croatia.
He earned his place in the cadet (U15) competitions for the July tournament as a wildcard selection after impressing in a series of play-offs with fellow members of the England Youth squad.
In the group stage, 14-year-old Hamblett won five of his six matches to finish second behind top seed Connor Green, twice battling back from two sets to one down to win 3-2 against Harry Yip and Adam Dennison.
That put him into the qualification matches, where he faced Jakub Piwowar, and it was his opponent who booked his place in the squad with an 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 victory.
However, Hamblett’s performances were enough to impress the selectors and award him a wildcard place in the squad.
The championships begin on July 18 with the older junior age groups in action first. Hamblett and the cadets began their games from July 27.
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