Mary Fuller, the 13-year-old England international and Oakbank Table Tennis Club member, put in one of her best performances at an open junior championships at Essex 4-Star in Harlow.

Mary reached two finals in the under-18 girls competitions, winning the banded finals and losing in the under-18 open finals.

She played several very close games, including her first under-18 banded competition final. Mary fought back from 10-8 down and then won in the fifth game 12-10 to beat Sally Hughes from Sussex

The real test of Mary's character came later in the day when she had to play in a later round of seven matches for two hours without a break.

Having won the first final, she faced the second final in the under-18 open.

Mary was exhausted, losing in three straight games to an England under-18 No 3 ranked player, Gemma Yarnley from Kent.