TABLE tennis talent Jess Moggeridge claimed a bronze medal in the girls’ under-11 singles at the National Championships at Kettering on Saturday.

Portland’s Moggeridge qualified for the quarter-finals after finishing second in her group of four qualifiers.

There were 3-0 successes over Anna Walsh (Lancashire) and Amy Barrance (Kent) and a close 3-2 defeat to top seed Katie Bates (Cleveland). Despite this defeat, the performance gave Moggeridge a lot of confidence going into the last eight.

In the quarter-final the youngster took on Katie O’Dwyer (Kent) who had earlier won her qualifying group.

Moggeridge squandered four match points in the third game at 10-6 up, to lose it 12-10, but showed great composure to win the fourth game 11-8 and the match 3-1.

Isabelle Lacorte (Herts) was the semi-final opponent and Moggeridge soon found herself 1-0 down, losing the first set 11-3.

However the Portland youngster found her rhythm and served well to cause her opponent problems and, despite losing a tight second game 11-9, won the third 11-8 to keep the match alive.

The game could have gone either way at 8-8 in the fourth as both girls played tremendous shots, but Lacorte managed to reel off three points in a row to win 11-8 and make the final, meaning Moggeridge was left to settle for bronze.

Anna Green (Notts) beat Lacorte in the final, avenging an earlier defeat in the group stages.

Weymouth coach Andy Millar was proud of the 11-year-old’s achievements: “Jess has only been playing for two years and is now one of the top girls in the country at her age group.

“Jess really enjoys practicing and is totally focused on improving every area of her game, in fact even in between the games on Saturday, she was keen to practice her serves and returns. This determination could lead to even greater prizes and a bright future in the game.”

The Weymouth & District Table Tennis League are looking for primary school players who want to emulate Moggeridge’s success. Contact Andy Millar on 07710507075 for details of training opportunities.