The 13-year-old St Bernard’s School pupil claimed under-13s boys singles gold at the Inter-Regional Finals.
The Table Tennis England event is new this year and, after regional qualifying events, sees boys and girls at three age groups compete for one of 10 regions from across the country in both singles and team competitions.
Representing the North West region, third seed McDonald battled through group and knockout stages and then overcame second seed Fraser Kent, of the South East, in the final.
The Furness CC junior player had to stay strong after seeing his opponent save three match points in the fourth game, before eventually winning it 3-2 (11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-6). It added to a team silver medal he gained after the North West were beaten 3-1 by the North East in that final. McDonald lost just one match throughout the tournament as he stood out as his team’s best player.
He said of his singles triumph: “I didn’t want to come second again, I just wanted to win and get a gold instead of another silver.”
McDonald’s results in the tournament saw his official Table tennis England ranking in the under-13s section rise to 16. He also climbed the higher-age cadets standings, which will be the next level he tackles, to number 59.
Success in Kettering followed McDonald reaching the semi-finals of the Lancashire Closed Tournament in Garstang, where he was beaten by England player Amirul Hussain, from Oldham.
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