Tom Jarvis named in England’s Euros team after claiming three Commonwealth medals

Tom Jarvis has been named in the England squad for the European Championships, on the back of winning three medals at the recent Commonwealth Championships.
Tom Jarvis.Tom Jarvis.
Tom Jarvis.

The 19-year-old Skegness athlete (pictured)will join Rio Olympians Liam Pitchford, Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker in a strong England line-up for the Europeans.

England have been drawn against Belarus and Luxembourg in the first stage of the event, which is in Nantes from September 3-8.

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Jarvis’ call-up follows his exploits at the Commonwealth Championships in Cuttack, India, earlier this month, where he won one silver and two bronze medals and picked up one of the biggest scalps of his career.

Competing alongside Walker and David McBeath in the team event, Jarvis helped England to reach the final with victories over Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Australia, Nigeria and, in the semi-finals, Malaysia.

They met hosts India, the strongest team in the competition, in the final and Jarvis got them off to the perfect start by defeating world number 32 Sharath Achanta 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-4) with a blistering performance.

Jarvis is currently ranked 189th in the world and this was his biggest career victory.

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Walker then defeated Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to put England within touching distance of gold, but the hosts turned the tables to win the next three matches, including Gnanasekaran defeating Jarvis 3-1 (11-2, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4) to make it 2-2.

Achanta’s victory over Walker then clinched the gold for India.

In the men’s singles, Jarvis was drawn against a succession of Indian players, defeating Jeet Chandra, Amalraj Anthony and Shankar Shetty in the early rounds to set up a semi-final against Gnanasekaran.

Again, the result went against Jarvis, but he gave a good account of himself despite the 4-0 (16-14, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9) scoreline.

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However, he could console himself with a bronze medal, awarded to both defeated semi-finalists.

In the men’s doubles, Jarvis and Walker won bronze after also reaching the semis, where they were beaten 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5) by Amalraj Anthony and Manav Thakkar as India continued to dominate.

In the mixed doubles, Jarvis and Denise Payet lost out 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-7) to Nigerian pair Azeez Jamiu & Ajoke Ojomu in the last 32.

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