Daniyal produced another outstanding performance at the 2-Star London Academy Tournament over the weekend, continuing his excellent form and progress. He entered the competition full of confidence and delivered a flawless morning session, recording straight-set victories over Sophia Shokoohideh, Rian Pacheriwala, James Peerless and David Ciurea. Daniyal was in complete control throughout the morning, winning all of his matches 3–0 with composed and assured performances.

These results set up a blockbuster afternoon featuring some of the very best Under 11 players in the country. All group winners progressed into Band 1, where final positions and the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals would be decided. The standard could not have been higher, with Daniyal (UK No.3 U11), Sanav Sethi (UK No.4 U11), Jacob Dennison (UK No.2 U11) and Nathan Bloom (UK No.18 U11) all drawn together. It is rare to see the No.2, No.3 and No.4 ranked players competing in a 2-Star tournament, and it promised to be an exciting and demanding afternoon.

Daniyal began strongly against Sanav Sethi, securing a hard-fought 3–1 victory. Although closer than his 3–0 win over Sanav in December, Daniyal showed excellent composure, resilience and match awareness to come through once again. He followed this with a confident 3–0 win over Nathan Bloom, who had earlier defeated UK No.11 Calen Dawson to reach Band 1.

Daniyal then faced Oscar Todhunter and continued his momentum with another impressive victory. His final match of the day was the headline encounter against Jacob Dennison, the UK No.2. Daniyal narrowly lost the match, but produced a truly exceptional performance in what was a contest that could easily have gone either way. He lost the first set 12–10, responded superbly to take the second 11–9, and was locked at 8–8 in the third before narrowly losing again 12–10. Jacob eventually closed out the match with an 11–6 win in the fourth set.

Stanmore were hugely impressed with Daniyal’s effort, particularly in this final match. Daniyal went toe-to-toe with one of the very best Under 11 players in the country, producing some outstanding rallies, many lasting over ten shots. Both players showed incredible power, consistency and determination, making for a thrilling spectacle. This was a match Daniyal was more than capable of winning, and his performance demonstrated just how close he is to the very top.

Daniyal finished the tournament with a well-deserved Silver medal in what was truly a “group of death”, featuring some of the strongest Under 11 players in the country. This was a Silver medal earned the hard way, requiring Daniyal to dig deep, compete at the highest level and produce his very best table tennis. He was agonisingly close to Gold.

Well done Daniyal – your hard work and training are clearly paying off, and you continue to grow stronger with every tournament. Keep fighting, keep pushing, and keep believing. We are incredibly proud of you at Stanmore.