Denise Payet won two gold medals at the Mark Bates National Table Tennis Championships, though she surprisingly missed out in the Women’s Singles.

The Enfield athlete started by winning the under-21 title on the first day of the three-day event in Nottingham.

It was an ‘upgrade’ from the silver medal last year, when she lost to England number one Tin-Tin Ho, who is no longer eligible for the event.

Payet, 18, came through a tight semi-final against fellow England international Charlotte Bardsley, digging deep to save three match points in the fifth set and going on to take the match on her own second match point 4-3 (6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-9).

The final was a more straightforward 4-1 (12-10, 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7) win over second seed Mollie Patterson.

Payet said: “I feel amazing. Last year, I lost in the final and didn't play well - I was quite nervous because it was my first final at this event.

“So I was glad I was able to bring everything I had this year because last year I didn't give my full potential.

“My emotions in the semi-final were so up and down. I was happy, angry, even ready to cry at one point. I was shaking after the match. I was happy I could fight my way through that and it surprised me even, because I can let my emotions get the better of me.”

Payet teamed up with Emily Bolton to win the Women’s Doubles, again making up for last year when the pair were beaten 3-2 in the final by Tin-Tin Ho and Maria Tsaptsinos having led 2-0.

This time, Ho was partnering Evie Collier, and it was victory for Payet and Bolton by a score of 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-1, 13-11).

“When we were 2-1 up there was probably a bit of pressure because of last year when we were 2-0 up and lost, but we learned from our previous experience to calm down and play one ball at a time, and not to rush,” said Payet.

“We had our tactics for this one clearer – we improved on that from last year and we stuck to those tactics.”

In the Women’s Singles, second seed Payet was surprisingly beaten 4-2 in the quarter-finals by 15-year-old Mari Baldwin, who went on to reach the final.

On the tournament as a whole, Payet said: “Overall, mixed emotions. I’m extremely happy with the under-21s and doubles. I feel losing in the singles made me stronger for the doubles because I was a bit angry and wanted that gold. I had more fighting spirit because I wanted it badly.”