Liam Pitchford has been eliminated from the China Smash qualifying draw after Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck won their third-round match in a deciding game in Beijing.
Table Tennis England reported that Pitchford recovered from two games down to force a fifth, but Nuytinck took control early in the decider and completed a 3-2 victory. The result ended Pitchford’s attempt to reach the men’s singles main draw after wins over Canada’s Edward Ly and Poland’s Maciej Kubik.
For Pitchford, the defeat brought a close to a qualifying run in which he had responded well after each setback. His match with Nuytinck, listed at world No 59 by Table Tennis England, was particularly competitive once the England player found a way back into contention.
Pitchford forces a decider after slow start
Nuytinck made the stronger start. Pitchford led 9-7 in the opening game, but the Belgian won the final four points to take it. Table Tennis England said Nuytinck then used another four-point run from 7-5 in the second game to move two games ahead.
Pitchford answered emphatically in the third. He won it 11-3, closing with six consecutive points, and then levelled the contest in the fourth. The England player was still behind but within reach during the first half of that game, before a three-point sequence from 8-8 sent the match into a decider.
The final game turned quickly in Nuytinck’s favour. He established a 3-0 lead, prompting Pitchford to take a timeout. Pitchford narrowed the gap to 4-2, but Table Tennis England reported that Nuytinck continued to produce winners and pulled clear to 9-4 before finishing the match.
Table Tennis England listed Pitchford at a protected world ranking of 75 for the event, with Nuytinck at 59. The recorded score was 11-9, 11-5, 3-11, 8-11, 11-4.
Recovering from 2-0 down made the deciding-game loss especially costly.
Two qualifying wins before the final hurdle
Pitchford had reached the decisive qualifying round with a straight-games win over Kubik. Table Tennis England reported that he was behind only after the opening point, before taking command through an 11-5 first game and an 11-3 second.
He opened the second game against Kubik by winning the first eight points. Pitchford completed the 3-0 victory by taking the third 11-8, having moved ahead from 3-3.
In the first qualifying round, Pitchford beat Ly 3-1. He won the first two games 11-4 and 11-7, before Ly took the third 11-5. Pitchford then held off a late challenge in the fourth, winning 11-9 after Ly had twice levelled from behind.
Table Tennis England said Pitchford was playing only his third WTT tournament since returning from a hip operation. It also reported that he had won four Bundesliga matches from four recently. Those details offered context for a qualifying campaign containing two convincing wins, despite the loss at the final stage.
England and Wales draw details in Beijing
Table Tennis England’s 2 October update said Tom Jarvis and Wales player Anna Hursey had been seeded directly into their respective singles main draws.
Jarvis was drawn to play Germany’s Benedikt Duda, who Table Tennis England listed at world No 37, in the men’s last 64. Hursey was due to face Chien Tung-Chuan of Chinese Taipei, listed at No 52, in the women’s draw.
There is also doubles interest. Jarvis and Connor Green were drawn against China’s Chen Junsong and Zhou Qihao in the men’s doubles round of 32, with the winners due to face Indian second seeds Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah, according to Table Tennis England. Green and Tin-Tin Ho were drawn against Chile’s Gustavo Gomez and Daniela Ortega in mixed doubles.
In women’s doubles, Hursey and China’s Shi Xunyao were seeded eighth and had a bye into the last 16, where the pair were guaranteed to play either Wang Xiaotong and Xu Yi or Chen Yi and Li Yihui.