TABLE TENNIS – Rising star Charlotte reaches the national finals

Colebridge Table Tennis Club rising star Charlotte LokChing Wong has qualified to represent Warwickshire in the national finals of the 48th Butterfly Schools Individual Table Tennis Championships for the second year running.

Charlotte, 10, attends Widney Junior School in Solihull and will face some of the country’s best young players at Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton on Saturday, April 22, later this year.

The youngster earned her place in the event after battling it out in the county qualifiers at Meon Vale Leisure Center in Stratford, beating three other girls in the round robin competition.

Charlotte said: “I’m really looking forward to playing in the National Schools Individual finals in April, I’m training regularly and hope to do better than my fifth place finish last season.

He trains four times a week at Colebridge Table Tennis Club and represents the club in the National Cadet League.

And Charlotte has also represented the Warwickshire County Cadet second team in the English County Championships this season.

More than 350 players from 50 provinces will gather for the final, which is the biggest one-day table tennis competition in the country.

Several stars of the sport, including Olympians Liam Pitchford, Paul Drinkhall, Sam Walker and Tom Jarvis, as well as Commonwealth Games medalists Tin Tin Ho and Maria Tsaptsinos, competed in this event during their school years.

Competitions are held at the under-11, 13, 16 and 19-year-old level for both boys and girls. All primary and secondary schools are eligible to enter players for the provincial rounds to qualify for these national finals.

Following these championships, the English Schools Table Tennis Committee will select representative teams to play in the Senior Schools International to be held in June 2023. All teams will compete from England, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales.