BRAMHOPE'S Shayan Siraj had to settle for the silver medal as he ended his junior career at the PG Mutual Cadet and Junior National Championships.

Siraj was top seed in the junior boys’ singles and reached the final, thanks to a thrilling semi-final victory over fourth seed Joe Cope.

Siraj led 3-0 but his opponent battled back to level, saving match points in the sixth game.

But Siraj finally got over the line in the decider to complete a 4-3 (11-6, 12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 8-11, 14-16, 11-9) victory.

He made a quick start in the final, taking the first game 11-1 against third seed Ethan Walsh, but Walsh turned the tide and went on to win 4-2 (1-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9).

Siraj, 17, said: “The day started well with two comfortable victories but then the semi-final was one of the toughest matches I’ve played and I don’t think I really recovered mentally. In the final, I wasn’t really thinking as I should or playing as clever as I was before, and he played really well.”

Siraj and Cope teamed up for the doubles, but the top seeds were beaten by fourth seeds Amirul Hussain and Sam Chesterman in the semi-finals.

They fought back from 2-0 down and led the decider 9-5, but a run of six points gave their opponents a 3-2 (11-2, 13-11, 6-11, 3-11, 11-9) triumph.

Siraj said: “We lost 11-9 in the fifth from 9-5 up and I think maybe lost a bit of focus.”

In the mixed doubles, Siraj and Jasmin Wong lost 3-1 in the semi-finals to eventual champions Walsh and Charlotte Bardsley.

Siraj, who currently attends Grantham College, is now planning to move to Sweden to play and train full-time next season as he steps up to senior and under-21 levels.