The UCS Under-13s boys’ team that won gold in east London. Photo: Stephen Pover/Table Tennis England

THE capital’s premier paddlers served up a treat on Saturday as they chopped, blocked, lobbed and smashed their way to glory at the Jack Petchey London Schools Table Tennis finals.

Held at the University of East London’s Sportsdock complex, players from University College School (UCS) in Hampstead were among the big winners as they returned home from the prestigious competition sporting both gold and silver medals.

The school’s Under-13s boys’ squad of Shai Chesterman, Ruben Michaud, Avi Schliessir and Krischan Rajendra successfully navigated their way through the group stages before storming to a 5-1 victory over Addey & Stanhope School from Lewisham in the semi-finals.

UCS faced Croydon’s Whitgift School in the final, a side that they had already been paired with and beaten in the group stages. The first two games of the contest were shared to make it 1-1, but UCS then displayed total dominance with four wins in a row to take an unassailable 5-1 lead, bettering the 5-3 win they had enjoyed against Whitgift School earlier on in the day.

St Edward’s ping-pong aces were runners-up in the Under-11s competition. Photo: Stephen Pover/Table Tennis England

A silver medal soon followed in the round-robin Under-19s boys’ event, where the UCS squad of Toby Crawcour, Ben Barbarash, Oskar Gerslefield and Tommy Lyons won two of their four matches but lost 6-2 to Wallington County Grammar School from Sutton in the decisive tie.

The boys’ team from St Edward’s Catholic Primary School in Marylebone were also among the medals after they took the runners-up spot in the Under-11s competition.

Fab four Malek Shamakh, Zaid Aldilimi, Patsy Callaghan and Taha Shamakh showcased their skills in style as they won their group, before then beating St Aubyn’s School from Woodford Green 5-1 in the semi-finals.

Table Tennis England director Priya Samuel, left, and Peta Cubberley from the Jack Petchey Foundation with UCS Under-19s who won silver in the tournament. Photo: Stephen Pover/Table Tennis England

On this occasion, however, the final proved just a step too far as St Edward’s were beaten 5-3 by Edgware’s London Academy – but there were still big smiles on the players’ faces as they were presented with their silver medals.

All the young players will no doubt already be back at the table tennis tables practising as all the winners and runners-up from the weekend have qualified for the regional finals, which will be held in Bristol next month.

“The boys played so well and are improving every step of the way,” said St Edward’s teacher Jade Cassidy.

“I’m so proud of them and excited for the next round. We know we have a lot of work to do before then. We will be training extra hard this month to prepare. The real work starts now.”