Bardsley tests herself against Europe's best young players

The Stourbridge youngster qualified as ninth seed for the event, staged by Table Tennis England at Worcester Arena.

The tournament sees the top players in the European rankings compete against each other on a round-robin basis and Bardsley competed well in most matches in the Cadet Girls’ section, taking at least one set in every match except for one 4-0 defeat against gold medallist Sophia Klee of Germany.

And she ended on a high with a 4-1 (8-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6) victory over Lou Frete of France, to end in ninth place, where her seeding suggested she should.

Bardsley, 15, who attends Healthfield School in Kidderminster, said: “I think I played really well in some parts of the tournament, but sometimes the other player was too strong – I got a couple of sets but they were stronger at the end.

“It’s definitely been good to see all the different players and the standard I have to try to achieve. The speed the ball was coming back surprised me.

“I’m motivated to work harder and next time if I get the chance to play these players, I’ll hopefully have a better chance of beating them.”

The event saw three days of competition for boys and girls in both junior and cadet age groups, meaning a total of 40 of the top young players in Europe were competing.

The two junior champions were both from Romania – Adina Diaconu in the girls’ event and Cristian Pletea in the boys’. The cadet boys’ winner was Samuel Kulczycki of Poland.

A spokesman for Table Tennis England said: “Worcester Arena was a magnificent venue for the tournament, the staff could not have been more helpful and the feedback we have had from competitors and from the European Table Tennis Union was overwhelmingly positive.

“This event is hosted by a different country every year, so is unlikely to return to England in the foreseeable future, but there is every chance we will look to stage future domestic events in Worcester.”