More Gold for Gavin

Never has there been more pressure on the nation’s top sporting talents. The football season seems forever longer and international cricketers are away from their homes most of the year. The same goes for sports that are less in the public eye like table tennis. For England’s latest emerging superstar Gavin Evans the past couple of months have seen him representing his country, and winning medals, in many different corners of the world. It is only a couple of months since Evans was winning the English National Cadet Masters title at Cippenham Table Tennis Centre, the club where it all began for the precocious 14-year old. Since that time Gavin has picked up international medals in Spain, Slovakia and Serbia and further represented the England senior team at the World Championships, the Commonwealth Championships and the Korean Open.

His latest medal, and a gold at that, came after a thrilling finale in the final of the European Youth Olympic Festival in Belgrade, Serbia last week. Evans, England’s most improved player of the year, beat Jean Laurie of Belgium 4-3 after having survived an earlier seven game test against another Belgian Cedric Nuytinct. “Laurie is a very good player” said England coach Steen Hansen “but Gavin knows his style and played very aggressively. There was a blip midway through the match but Gavin fought back well. He has worked hard and I’m very pleased for him”.

This came on top of the bronze medal Evans won in the Cadet Boys’ Doubles event in Bratislava, Slovakia in the European Youth Championships the previous week.

Evans is the youngest of a trio of exceptional hopes in English table tennis that should be at their peak when the London 2012 Olympics take place. He, with Paul Drinkhall and Darius Knight, now both 17, won the European Youth Championships team event and the World Cadet Challenge for England in 2005. That same summer Evans became the European Under-12 Boys’ Singles champion. The future looks bright.