Liam Pitchford opened his China Smash campaign with a 3-1 qualifying victory over Canada’s Edward Ly in Beijing. Table Tennis England’s October 1 report said the England player had been listed to meet Poland’s Maciej Kubik in the second qualifying round.
Table Tennis England reported that Pitchford won 11-4, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9 after taking charge early in the match and resisting a late recovery from Ly in the fourth game. The result was Pitchford’s first win in the qualifying draw at the WTT event.
Pitchford made a fast start, winning five of the opening six points before claiming the first game 11-4. Table Tennis England said he finished that game with four successive points. He briefly trailed in the second game, but again finished strongly to establish a two-game lead before Ly responded.
Ly took the third game 11-5, aided by three separate runs of three points, according to Table Tennis England. Pitchford nevertheless regained control in the fourth, putting himself within sight of the match before Ly narrowed the gap and then drew level. The England player’s final two points secured his four-game victory.
The fourth was tighter. Ly recovered from deficits of 7-4 and 9-7 to draw level, but Pitchford won the final two points to complete the victory. That closing sequence prevented the match going to a deciding game and put him into the second qualifying round.
Kubik was listed as the second-round opponent
Table Tennis England named Kubik as Pitchford’s opponent in the next qualifying round. The Polish Table Tennis Association reported that Kubik reached that stage by defeating Canada’s Eugene Wang 3-1, with game scores of 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8.
Kubik’s four-game victory followed a split across the opening two games, according to the Polish association’s result. He won the first 11-9, lost the second 13-11 and then took the final two games 11-8.
Both Table Tennis England and the Polish Table Tennis Association listed Pitchford against Kubik in the second qualifying round on Friday. Pitchford’s opening win therefore gave him a confirmed route into a further qualifying match against a player who had also overcome Canadian opposition.
Table Tennis England said Pitchford is competing at his third WTT tournament since returning from a hip operation. It also reported that he had recently won four matches from four in the Bundesliga. Those results provided positive recent form ahead of his next listed qualifying match against Kubik.
Mixed outcomes for England players in Beijing
Connor Green’s opening men’s singles qualifier went the distance, but he was beaten 3-2 by Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz. Green took the first game 12-10 after saving a game point, then forced a deciding fifth by winning the fourth 11-8.
Abdelaziz had won the second and third games 11-9 and 11-7, according to Table Tennis England. He then won the opening four points of the decider and moved 10-2 ahead. Green saved four match points, but Abdelaziz completed a 3-2 win with an 11-6 fifth game.
Tin-Tin Ho was scheduled to begin her women’s singles qualifying campaign against Chile’s Paulina Vega. Table Tennis England said the winner would face either Jessica Reyes Lai of the United States or France’s Audrey Zarif in the next round.
Table Tennis England listed Ho at world No 80 and Vega at No 149. It said their first-round match was in the bottom quadrant of the qualifying draw, while Reyes Lai was listed at No 140 and Zarif at No 105. In the same quadrant, Germany’s Xiaona Shan was identified as world No 63 and the No 2 seed in qualifying, with the association reporting that she was seeded to progress to the main draw. Those listings provided the reported draw context for Ho’s opening match without establishing a later opponent for her.
Tom Jarvis and Wales’ Anna Hursey were named by Table Tennis England as players seeded directly into their respective main draws. The association also said the men’s doubles draw had not yet been made, with Jarvis and Green entered in that competition, while Green and Ho were entered in the mixed doubles.
Pitchford’s result gave England an early men’s singles success in Beijing, while the reports identified Kubik as his second qualifying-round opponent.