Day three of the European Youth Championships turned out to provide a mixed bag of results for the English teams in action.
While the cadet girls beat Luxembourg comfortably, both the junior and cadet boys lost dramatic games in the last fixture to Serbia and Italy respectively.
It was the junior boys defeat that will create the most anguish though as Lewis Gray squandered four match points in their final match against Boris Mihailovic, which saw the team agonisingly let slip the chance of victory.
Both Sam Walker and George Downing had won previously in the match before the drama of the final fixture. While Gray began excellently to hold his nerve in the first and second games – leading 2-0 with consecutive 11-9 scorelines, he let his opponent level at 2-2 to force the decider. This time Gray again seemed in control but at 10-6 up he conceding six straight points as the English cheers turned to silence.
The story was similar for the cadet boys who suffered a 3-2 defeat to Italy despite leading 2-0. Daniel Lawrence superbly beat European number 31 Jordy Piccolin 3-2 and Helshan Weerasinghe beat Luca Bressan 3-0 but after a doubles defeat, the pair lost their rhythm and both lost 3-1 in the reverse singles fixtures.
It was better news for the cadet girls, however, as they beat Luxembourg 3-0 with wins for Tin-Tin Ho and Lois Peake before they jointly won the doubles to seal a quick and efficient victory.
Team Results:
Cadet boys:
Italy 3-2 England
Daniel Lawrence bt Jordy Piccolin 3-2 (10-12, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4)
Helshan Weerasinghe bt Luca Bressan 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-6)
Piccolin/Bressan bt Weerasinghe/Lawrence 3-0 (13-11, 11-7, 11-6)
Jordy Piccolin bt Helshan Weerasinghe 3-1 (11-6, 4-11, 11-5, 12-10)
Luca Bressan bt Daniel Lawrence 3-1 (16-14, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5)
Cadet girls:
England 3-0 Luxembourg
Tin-Tin Ho bt Jil Brimaire 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-4)
Lois Peake bt Lisa Turegard 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-2, 11-9)
Ho/Peake bt Brimaire/Turegard 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7)
Junior boys:
Serbia 3-2 England
Valentin Nad Nemedi bt Lewis Gray 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-9)
Sam Walker bt Boris Mihailovic 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8)
George Downing bt Ilija Majstorovic 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7)
Valentin Nad Nemedi bt Sam Walker 3-0 (14-12, 11-7, 11-9)
Boris Mihailovic bt Lewis Gray 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10)
England 3-1 Belarus
Lewis Gray bt Siarhei Afanasenka 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-8)
Sam Walker bt Vadim Yarashenka 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-1, 11-5)
Gleb Shamruck bt George Downing 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9)
Sam Walker bt Siarhei Afanasenka 3-2 (12-14, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7)