Moray Table Tennis Club star Alexander Stepney (11) wins two medals on his international debut in Scotland in Jersey and club coach Stephen Gertsen hopes the Mosstowie pupils' achievements will inspire others to take up the sport

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A schoolboy table tennis player marked his international debut in Scotland with a double medal.

Moray Table Tennis Club youngster Alexander Stepney qualified for the Scottish team to play in an international home tournament in Jersey for primary school aged youngsters.

The 11-year-old Mosstowie Primary student only started playing competitively just over a year ago, but impressed in his biggest tournament to date.

He defeated the Scottish number one player in his age group in the quarter-finals of the singles, before losing to the English number one in the semi-finals and settling for a bronze medal.

The Moray star also shone in the team event, winning the majority of his matches to help Scotland to the silver medal.

Stephen Gertsen, founder of the Moray Table Tennis Club and Scotland performance director, said Alexander rose to the big occasion despite his inexperience.

He hopes the rise in Alexander's fortunes can inspire other young people to pick up a table tennis bat at their local club, or take part in sessions every Thursday at Moray College UHI.

I would say he embraced the opportunity, said Gertsen, who has represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in the past.

You're never sure how a young player will do at an international event, and I wasn't sure of his level in that company. When you are number two in that age group in Scotland, you are never sure how he will fare.

But with seven out of ten in the team event that was fine. Where he probably surprised me most was in the singles, where he medaled, beating the Scottish number one in the quarter-finals.

Alexander was up against teammate Dean Robertson, who had beaten him at Scottish national meets the previous year and was favorite to move into the medal positions.

The Moray player dug deep and won an extremely close match in the deciding set.

He is the man who beat him when he had to qualify for this event. Dean has beaten him a few times this season, beating him 3-1 in the final at Bathgate in February.

But Alexander won 3-2 in the quarterfinals, so that was a good win for him. It was a shame that two Scottish players were playing against each other, but it meant that at least one of them would get a medal and Alexander did well to win bronze.

They worked well together in the team, played doubles together and lost only one match, so they are good teammates and good friends.

The eventual winner of the singles was the English top boy Zaid Aldilimi, who defeated Alexander 3-0 and proved to be too strong for everyone in the entire competition.

Gertsen said Alexander's double medal was testament to the extent to which he has progressed in the sport in a short time.

It's satisfying to think that two and a half years ago he could barely hit the ball and needed a lot of work and attention, he said.

It took time, but myself and many other people were willing when he was in the early stages to sit down with him and have some patience.

Now they don't want to table with him because he beats so many of them.

It was a good club performance. He started at Moray Table Tennis Club at university and will now train in Inverness with myself and others at the club.

We want more young people at the club and we hope to attract them this summer, when we start fresh again after the summer holidays.

Alexander is an example of where you can go if you commit to something. We have good guidance and good opportunities for table tennis at the club in Moray and the Highlands.

That hasn't been here before, but there are opportunities to go and play and beat some of the better players back home if you put in what Alexander has.

It is really rewarding for a coach to see how far he has come. It's often the hardest thing to do: take a player from the basic level to where he is now.

There is still a long way to go, but hopefully he will keep it up for many years to come. That is the goal: not only to be happy with what he has achieved, but also to continue to strive to do a little more and also to continue to make progress every year.

Moray Table Tennis Club podium sessions for all ages and abilities at Moray College every Thursday between 4:30pm and 6:00pm.

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