MARIANA AGATHANGELOU returned from Langenfeld in Germany with her first gold medal in a European tournament of the new season.

Two weeks ago Mariana teamed up with her new under-19 doubles partner Jenny Wallwork and stormed to victory in the Yorkshire under-19 championships, winning gold in the doubles without dropping a set and reaching the semi-finals of the mixed.

Last weekend she teamed up again with her partner Jenny Wallwork and mixed partner Dean George and headed for Germany to take part in the Langenfeld under-19 European championships with the England team.

Friday and Saturday saw Agathangelou progress into the quarter finals of both events.

In the mixed she and George fought bravely but were outplayed by the Danish No 1 pair.

In the doubles Agathangelou and Wallwork progressed through the rounds without any difficulty even though they found it hard to gel together as both players usually lead the play and have only played one tournament together.

They reached the finals against former under-17 European Champions Lina Kruz and Maria Kronner and their understanding improved the longer they played together.

The young English girls won the first set but the Danish pair levelled.

The final set saw the two girls beat the Danish pair and win the doubles European title 15/9.