11:57am Wednesday 30th June 2010
Battersea table tennis star Darius Knight proved his point as he made a triumphant home coming at the Burger King Fusion All Star Open tournament in Tooting on Sunday.
The 20-year-old English number five lifted the men’s singles title at Ernest Bevan School to scoop the £1,000 first prize, before adding the doubles crown to his haul.
Knight - seeded three - had vowed to remind English table tennis of his talent ahead of the event, and dispatched Scottish number one Gavin Rumgay over four games in the semi-final before beating experienced 41-year-old Hungarian Ivan Vitsek in the final.
The Sheffield-based star then teamed up with Rumgay to beat Vitsek and Norbert Tofalvi in the doubles final having overpowered Chinese pair Po Huang Chen and Da Qing Tong in their semi.
The win provides a timely boost for Knight, who is no longer centrally funded by UK Sport, as he prepares to qualify for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games later this year.
On Saturday, Aaron Smith claimed the U18s title with a 3-1 win over Anthony Patten in the final, while Alex Holland won the U15s crown before his younger brother - named young player of the tournament - lifted the U11 trophy.
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