SLOUGH teenager Shae Thakker has won two medals at his latest international competition in Russia, including gold in the PTT RITTO Junior Under-23 singles.

Thakker, 13, laid the foundations for his success in the junior event with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over fellow British Para Table Tennis Pathway Squad member Lawrence John in his opening match, taking the decisive final set 14-12.

Subsequent wins against Chris Peters from Luxembourg and the Russian Nikita Perevozchikov secured gold for Thakker, with John taking the silver.

In the senior event, Thakker did not progress from his group in the singles but combined with Great Britain teammate Ryan Henry to take bronze in the men’s class 9-10 team event.

Thakker beat Vladislav Balobanov 3-0 to secure a win over Russia that took his team through to the quarter-finals.

The young Great Britain pair beat a combined team from Germany and Luxembourg, before losing in the semi-finals to the eventual goal medallists from Italy and Denmark.

Thakker said: “I’m really pleased with the gold that I’ve achieved in the junior singles.

“This has really improved my confidence in my game and I’m really ecstatic to see that my training has been very influential.

“This has inspired me to work even harder so that I can achieve this success again.”

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