Megan Jones shines on national stage
Telford’s Megan Jones is celebrating after becoming a double national champion.
The 17-year-old won both the under-17 girls’ singles and under-17 girls’ doubles titles at the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet, Under-17 & Junior National Championships.
Seeded second in the singles, Jones won her group to go into the knockout stages and two more 3-0 wins put her in the semi-finals.
She had to dig deep to beat Sienna Jetha 3-2 (12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7) to go through to the final, where she faced unseeded Ella Pashley.
Jones lived up to her seeding as she won the final 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4).
It followed victory in the doubles earlier in the day as Jones and partner Anna Green, the top seeds, just about managed to get the better of Amy Marriott and Saskia Key 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6) in the final.
Jones said: “It’s not what I was expecting, to be honest, but it’s a good feeling to come home with two golds.
“The doubles was my first National title, so it’s a good feeling. In the singles final, it was a good match, but I felt like I had to play my game more and not let her get in.”
For good measure, Jones added a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals of the junior (under-19) girls’singles. She was narrowly defeated by second seed Amy Marriott, who won 3-2 (11-6, 11-13, 14-12, 8-11, 12-10).
In the junior mixed doubles, Jones and Jakub Piwowar lost 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8) in the last 16 to Marriott and Maxim Stevens, while in the junior girls’ doubles, Jones and Jasmin Wong went out in the semi-finals to eventual champions Anaya Patel and Millie Rogove. Bronze medals are not awarded in doubles.
