The chance to learn from other cultures and play against different styles was a big part of ITTF World Hopes Week for English players Sai Prasanna Kumar and Isabella Xiao Xu.

The pair took their places among some of the most promising under-12s in the world for a week of intensive training at EIS Sheffield, ending with a two-day Challenge competition.

As well as picking up a great deal of knowledge from the training, both youngsters held their own in the competition, which had a unique format where every game counted – matches could finish 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2.

Isabella said: “I like the environment and how everyone got into it and had friends. I really feel like I’ve improved in my way of how I play and how I react on the court, because everyone here is the top in their country.

“There were tough matches, sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. It really depends on whoever stays calm, so I feel like the way my emotions get is better in matches now than before.

“I know that everyone is going to be in the same level in bigger tournaments, and just don’t be overconfident if I win a match, and stay calm.

“I’m very proud of myself, of being able to represent England.”

Sai said: “I like how the coaches helped me a lot, and I liked the multiball. I learned how to have an aggressive backhand open up and my forehand’s a lot stronger.

“It’s been great because I haven’t had this experience before and players are much better than England. They teach me different styles. The experience is really good and the coaches are really good.”

National Pathway Coach Charlotte Carey said the competition format was particularly good for young players to build resilience.

“It’s good to see everyone playing all different countries and playing it all out with four sets,” she said, “so sometimes it can end up 2-2, sometimes 3-1. It’s a good way to see the real level.

“Obviously the competition is tough because with four sets, sometimes you can be 3-0 down and just fighting to try and get one more set to put a point on the leaderboard. It’s great that every set counts and there’s still something to play for even if you are 3-0 down.

“I think it’s a little bit difficult sometimes when you are leading 3-0 to actually win that last set – sometimes you almost relax and think that it’s over because you’ve won already. Equally, if you’re 2-1 down, to win one more set and finish it 2-2, sometimes you feel like you haven’t actually won the match, but still, it’s great to get another two sets on the leaderboard.”

“It’s been a great week for the English players. Obviously, they’ve got to play with a lot of different people from different countries and it’s just invaluable experience really to spend time with people from other countries, other cultures.”