Shropshire’s young badminton star Jess Pugh came close to anchoring a shock England victory in the prestigious 8 Nations Tournament.

Telford-based Jess, who attends Charlton School in Wellington, boasted an enviable 100 per cent record during the competition as England reached the final in Milton Keynes where they were narrowly beaten by favourites Denmark.

Jess recorded an impressive eight-match winning streak in her doubles and mixed-doubles matches but it wasn’t quite enough as Denmark edged the final 5-4.

But Jess, who at 13 was competing a year below her age group, can still be pleased with her performances during the competition.

Together with mixed-doubles partner Ben Lane the duo, seeded as England’s No 1 pairing, saw off competition from the Netherlands, France and Germany during an impressive group stage where they dropped just one set.

And Jess was in even more ruthless form in the women’s doubles where her and partner Natalie Chan Lam didn’t drop a single set in three more wins against the same opponents. That record set England up for a final against the Danes where despite two more straight-set victories for Jess the Scandinavian side just came out on top leaving England with the silver medal.

The 8 Nations attracts the best teams and players from all over Europe and the tournament is seen as one of the most important championships of the season.

Jess has enjoyed an excellent start to the year picking up medals against players at least a year older, while also performing well in under-17 and under-19 tournaments.