Rising table tennis star Jake Davidson is serving up some very impressive victories.  

The 14-year-old from Churchdown is ranked no.4 in England for the under-15 age group after some excellent results over the past few months.

His hard work is being rewarded because he puts in a minimum of 15 hours a week practice and is part of the England Futures programme.

“He’s won the Cambridge 4* and the Plymouth 4*,” said his proud dad Nick, who is a top table tennis coach having won the South West table tennis regional coach of the year three times.

He was also runner-up in the national coach of the year at the Table Tennis England Pride awards at the weekend.

Jake, a pupil at Chosen Hill School, has been playing table tennis since the age of seven, so what is it that makes him so good?

“His bouncebackability,” said Nick. “He’s got incredible resilience. If he loses a match, he gets up the following morning and is ready to go and compete again.

“If he loses a game, it’s the same. He can be 2-0 down and trailing in the third and he can still win the match”

Gloucestershire’s no.1 junior is also the reigning boys’ under-15 National Series champion, a title he picked up earlier in the season, and now he has gone a step further and has secured a bronze medal at the boys’ under-15 national championships.

Seeded eighth in the competition, Jake displayed remarkable poise and finesse on the table, mixing it with his aggressive attacking ability. 

His performance in the earlier rounds was spectacular. As the top seed in group 8, he faced off against formidable opponents, including Finley Aitken, from Brighton, who made waves by defeating two higher-ranked players to secure his place alongside Jake in the knockout stages.

Jake had to be on his mettle as Theo Kniep, England ranked no. 9 from Berkshire, attempted to bounce back from his earlier defeat. It finished 3-1 (7-11, 11-5, 15-13, 11-8) to Jake.

Jake had earlier disposed of Teagan Khazal, England ranked no.24 from Middlesex, 3-0

In the knockout stages he swept aside Harrison Hill from Essex, ranked no.13, 3-0, setting up a quarter- final match with Dimitar Dimitrov, the third seed and no.3 in England. 

Jake looked in control from the start and breezed into a 11-3 lead and went on to win comfortably 3-0.

In a gripping semi-final, he was against the formidable Abraham Sellado from Yorkshire, the top seed and European no.4.

The match was delicately poised at 1-1, with Jake holding a narrow 7-5 lead in the third game. However, Sellado demonstrated exceptional skills and ultimately claimed a 3-1 victory (11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6).

The competition was fierce, but Jake's hard work and dedication paid off as he forged ahead to capture the bronze medal.

“I’m thrilled with the outcome and grateful for the support from my coaches, parents and sponsor,”  Jake said. “This experience has taught me a lot, and I’m excited to keep pushing my limits in the future.”

Jake is now setting his sights on Europe as he heads to Metz in France in April and Spain in May to play on the World Tour.

Jake’s older brother, 16-year-old Charlie, is also a decent table tennis player. He is ranked second in Gloucestershire for the under-19s.