TEENAGE sensation Hannah Silcock has added yet another title to her ever-growing resumé, with a dominant display to be crowned Under-19 girls’ champion at the recent Butterfly Schools Individual Finals.
Still just 16 years old, the Islander now attends Kesteven & Grantham Secondary School in Lincolnshire in a bid to further her staggering progress in the sport.
Silcock entered the event with the pressure of the number one seeding overall, but the double gold-medal Island Games winner rose to the occasion.
Topping her group with a flawless record of five wins from five, the domination continued deep into the knockout stages.
3-0 victories followed in the round of 16 and quarter finals over Luna Archard and Isabelle Lacourt.
The Caesarean was pushed a little by Mabel Schute in the semi-final, with narrow 11-9 and 12-10 wins in the second and third sets, but ultimately Silcock reached the final without dropping a single set.
From 2-0 up in the final, she was pegged back to 2-2 by Anna Green, but, with the momentum against her, Silcock rallied to claim the decider in resounding fashion 11-4.
“There’s always pressure that comes with being the top seed for a tournament,” said the teenager.
“Obviously there is a sense of expectation that comes with that tag.
“I started the day really well and got off to a strong start.
“I felt like I was cruising through my matches, winning most of them 3-0 comfortably.
“The semi was also 3-0, but the sets were close and a couple could have gone either way.
“But then from being just one game away from winning the event without dropping a single set, and then all of a sudden going to a decider was nerve-racking.
“I remember thinking to myself ‘I can’t bottle this,’ but I refocused really well for that final set and to win that convincingly gives me a lot of confidence.”
Following her latest success, the Caesarean has now been selected to play for England in the World Senior Secondary Schools competition in Bahrain in October 2024.
With her home base now on the mainland, Silcock is ineligible to represent Jersey in the British Secondary Schools event.
English Secondary Schools have a stipulation that a player can represent England in one tournament a year, thus the Islander has been put forward for Bahrain rather than the British Schools competition in the Isle of Man.
“I’m really proud and excited,” added Silcock.
“It will be the first time I’ve played in this competition for England, so it’s definitely added some motivation and desire to train harder.
“The standard of competition will be incredibly tough.
“China are usually pretty dominant, but I’m just excited to get there and see how it goes.
“To be able to see how I stack up and compare to the best players from around the world will be really valuable and be a good chance to see where I’m currently at standard wise.”
