3:10pm Thursday 3rd May 2012
By Newsdesk
A rising star of county table tennis served up a surprise when he won titles in two different age groups at the same competition.
Ten year old Shayan Siraj, from Bramhope, took the U11 title at the Yorkshire Region championships in Keighley before stepping up to take the U12 title too.
He will now go on to play in both age categories at the National Championships in Walsall in June.
Shayan, a pupil at The Grammar School at Leeds, is undaunted by the prospect of taking on more senior opposition – he recently won a 2-0 victory over one of his teachers in a charity match for Sport Relief.
Taking on Shayan in the table tennis challenge was Year 3 teacher Mr Sam Critchley.
He said: “It was a spirited, close-fought match. It was tough to find the pace of the shots and deal with the variety of spins that Shayan puts on the ball. I was very impressed with the quality of his game and can see why he is representing his county.”
Shayan has been playing table tennis since he was seven, and trains six hours a week, as well as practising at home with older brother Faizan who, like Shayan, plays for the Judean club.
In the summer, Shayan will travel to China with the Yorkshire squad for three weeks’ intensive training. He said, “I’m looking forward to playing for about six hours a day. The conditions will be hot and I’ll learn lots.”
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