Orpington Table Tennis star James Smith believes his game is improving after his recent European excursions.

The 14-year-old, who started playing the sport at the age of nine, experienced mixed fortunes in his recent trips to Slovakia and Portugal.

Beating a Chinese player was the highlight for the Whitgift School pupil when he represented England at the Portugal Junior and Cadet Open last week.

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“It was a really great experience,” Smith said. “It’s always very tough and competitive because you’re playing against top players from different countries.

“The results didn’t go quite the way we had hoped but it was a fantastic experience and I think I have been improving in all the competitions.”

Smith, playing alongside Shayan Siraj as the England B line-up, were drawn in a tough group including a Chinese team.

But Smith gave them a superb start by beating Zhigao Si 3-2 in a thrilling encounter.

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However, China came back to win 3-1 overall, and it was the same scoreline as England lost to Spain B, with Siraj getting their point.

They ended on a high with a 3-0 victory over Portugal G, Smith winning his singles match 3-0 against Jorge Mendes, but the team just missed out on a spot in the knockout stages.

In the singles Smith, who trains around 10 hours a week and once a month with the England squad, lost two of his three group matches and therefore failed to progress from the group stage.

He had to settle for a place in the consolation singles where he reached the quarter-finals with straight-games victories over players from Portugal and Spain, before being beaten by the eventual winner of the event.

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“A lot of the games I lost were quite close and went to the fifth set so there were positives to take and it was encouraging.

“I hoped to get through to the knockout stage but the players are very good.”

Smith’s attentions now turn to the National Championships in April.

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