An Oxfordshire pensioner has won two medals in the 2018 world championships of an unusual sport - while proving a sports career can stand the test of time.

Alan Cornish, 77, has taken home the silver and bronze medals for Great Britain in the racketlon world event.

The Oxfordshire player began playing the sport of racketlon in 2004, at the age of 63.

The niche sport combines four racket sports, where the size of the racket increases with each match. The sport starts with table tennis, followed by badminton, squash and ending with tennis.

He is a lifelong fan of racket sports and was featured in an Sportsweek article in 1979, when at the age of 38, he was asked if he thought he was nearly 'over the top'.

But Mr Cornish showed he can still cut it and rolled back the years to return from Zurich having placed second in the over 70’s singles event and third in the over 65’s team competition.

The sportsman had won his group in the initial stages and made it to the final.

In the final Mr Cornish narrowly lost out to Swede, Lennart Eklandh, who he had actually beaten in the group stage.

The racketlon winner says he is guided by the philosophy of Billie Jean King and said: "The joy of winning is lovely but very fleeting, I always wanted just to play better."

Chloe Marshall, Alan’s squash coach, said: "Alan’s passion and commitment has been truly inspiring.

"He has put endless hours into his training and has been really dedicated to giving his best performance at the championships."

She said she hopes to see the same application from junior players.

Mr Cornish had a rigorous training schedule, with an average week including three training sessions a day, seven days a week. These sessions included match play, coaching sessions and solo practice.

He added: "I never could have done it without the help and patience of all people involved."