Loveridge and very best not Poles apart

ALICE LOVERIDGE (pictured) showed that she can compete with some of the world's best in her age group at the weekend.

She was representing Guernsey in the cadet singles at the Polish Open held near Gdansk in northern Poland and found herself in a tough group with the number two seed Ayuka Tanioka, of Japan, and Paulina Nowacka, from the host country.

Loveridge's first match was against the Japanese girl and the Sarnian found her defensive style difficult to cope with but played well despite losing in three straight games 11-6, 11-8, 11-5. With two girls qualifying from each group, Loveridge knew she had to beat the Pole to qualify. The Island Games gold medallist played some her best table tennis to win a high quality match 3-1.