Liam PITCHFORD won his first-ever Men’s Singles title at the 54th English Senior National Championships at Ponds Forge on Sunday afternoon. The 19-year-old from Derbyshire had to face a re-match of 2012′s final against four-time National Champ, Liam PITCHFORD won his first-ever Men’s Singles title at the 54th English Senior National Championships at Ponds Forge on Sunday afternoon. The 19-year-old from Derbyshire had to face a re-match of 2012′s final against four-time National Champion, Paul DRINKHALL, who beat him 4-1 last time out. However, on this occasion the teen exacted his revenge and emerged victorious over six pulsating ends 4-2 (8-11, 11-8, 2-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9). PITCHFORD was relieved to have finally got his name of the trophy after two previous final defeats in Sheffield. His loss to Andrew BAGGALEY in 2010 was followed by last year’s defeat to DRINKHALL, who PITCHFORD knows very well from their England training. The Chesterfield-born player said: “We practice against each other all the time and we know each others games. Every match is difficult but I’m just happy to have finally won one. “He blew me out of the water in the third game with some ridiculous shots. After that I just said to myself ‘look, you’ve just got to try something different.’ I started putting more topspin on my serves, waiting for him to flick and then playing down the lines – luckily it worked.” PITCHFORD had been out with a hip injury over Christmas but put to bed any allaying fears about his performances with not only his singles title, but also a Men’s Doubles title with beaten finalist DRINKHALL. He said: “I was out for five weeks but I did good rehab and I was in good hands. I’m still working on keeping on top of it. I’m feeling stronger than ever. “Tomorrow I’ve got a flight to Germany where I’ve got a match on Sunday and two more the weekend after that. Pretty much everyone’s a national champion [at his club, TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen] so it’s just another day in the office.” Although PITCHFORD prevented DRINKHALL from retaining his title, Women’s Singles Champion, Kelly SIBLEY was able to defend her crown from 2012 after a monster seven-game marathon with great rival Joanna PARKER. Having already been through two tough fixtures earlier in the day, a six-game quarter-final win over TIN-TIN Ho and a seven-game semi-final victory against Karina Le FEVRE, Sibley was delighted to be able to finally put her feet up. The 24-year-old said: “I think today’s been a really tough day. In my quarter-finals I was 2-0 down and came back and won 4-2, then my semi-final was even closer than that. I was 3-0 up and Karina played really well to come back to 3-3. I was 8-3 and 9-5 down so I just focused ball-by-ball and eventually managed to get through that 14-12. “I’m just so happy to win it really. I kept on getting into winning positions all the time but I just had to be calm and keep focused on what I was doing when I was winning the points. I took my time a bit, had a couple of deep breaths and eventually got that last point. “I’m going to take it steady tomorrow, rest the legs and recharge the batteries then it’s back to training on Tuesday.” The next challenge for both singles champions will be the Commonwealth Championships in May and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014. SIBLEY said: “I want to keep pushing and working hard towards the Championships. I believe in the Commonwealth Games we can get a medal in the team especially with Tin-Tin [HO] coming through, she’s pushing to be in our team now. I think if we keep working hard then we can do some damage.” PITCHFORD was focused on his goals: “We’ve got the Comonwealths coming up, I think I’m playing well enough to medal there. I’m looking to get gold.” 2012/13 English Senior National Championships (Ponds Forge, Sheffield 1-3 March 2013) Final results: Men’s Singles: Liam PITCHFORD bt Paul DRINKHALL 4-2 (8-11, 11-8, 2-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9) Women’s Singles: Kelly SIBLEY bt Joanna PARKER 4-3 (11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-4) Men’s Doubles: Paul DRINKHALL/Liam PITCHFORD bt Darius KNIGHT/Daniel REED 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5) Women’s Doubles: Joanna PARKER/Kelly SIBLEY bt Chloe WHYTE/Jess DAWSON 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-3) Mixed Doubles: Darius KNIGHT/Kelly SIBLEY bt Paul DRINKHALL/Joanna PARKER 3-0 (11-5, 14-12, 11-6) Men’s Under 21s: Sam WALKER bt Richard ANDREWS 3-2 (11-7, 3-11, 15-17, 11-8, 12-10) Women’s Under 21s: Tin-Tin HO bt Yolanda KING 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-13, 13-11, 12-10) (courtesy English Table Tennis Association) Photo: Lianm PITCHFORD (Photo Roscher)

At Welsh Championships IN Cardiff, Charlotte CAREY took her 3rd title in the Junior Girls  singles by beating Nicole HALL 3-1 in the final. After a few below par performances on the continent, it was a timely confidence boost to the world 429. Nicole Hall,

Belarus already has declared its champions. Pavel PLATONOV and Alexandra PRIVALOVA clinched the titles in their respective Men’s and Women;s Singles Event at the Belarus national championships played in Minsk. In the final of the Men’s Singles Event PLATO,

All eyes of table tennis fans will be set on the final stage of Greek National Championship this weekend. The event organizes in STAG area of Peace and Friendship Stadium and gathers most of the big names of country. In men singles the reigning champion K,

Following the biennial election of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Treasurer for Administrative Years 2013/14 and 2014/15, the English Table Tennis Association can officially announce that Andy Seward will become the new Chairman, Richard SCRUTON new Deputy,

The Absolute Spanish Championship, played in Pontevedra concluded in great style. In the Men’s Singles final, Carlos MACHADO won his ninth title and Sara RAMÍREZ the fifth. Carlos MACHADO reached the highs of the best national players, equaling his record,

Three days long 83rd Lithuanian National Championships started today, in a year when Lithuanian TTA celebrates its 85th Anniversary.  “Also our two International umpires Romualdas FRANCKAITIS and Vincas FRANCKAITIS celebrate their 70th year Anniversary. F,

The Welsh National Championships take place on 2nd and 3rd March at Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. This has been the venue for the ‘Closed’ for as long as one remembers and will remain so for years to follow. The capital city is the, The Welsh National Championships take place on 2nd and 3rd March at Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. This has been the venue for the ‘Closed’ for as long as one remembers and will remain so for years to follow. The capital city is the hotspot for Welsh table tennis. After 11 times champion and current National Coach Ryan JENKINS decided not to compete this year against his group of youngsters he coaches it opens the door for his brother Stephen to come in as number 1 seed to the event. Steve, who is a part time coach himself, has won bronze medals at Commonwealth level at the 2004 and 2009 Championships in Kuala Lumpur and Glasgow respectively. He tops the pile of opponents who include Daniel O’CONNELL, Patrick THOMAS, Dean CUNDY and Conor EDWARDS. The women’s event sees the reigning champion returning to defend the title. Naomi OWEN ranked in the mid 300’s in the latest ITTF world ranking will look to stay ahead of the younger chasing pack of Charlotte CAREY, Megan PHILIPS, Angharad PHILIPS and Chloe THOMAS Nicole HALLl, last year’s runner up, is also in the chasing pack looking to pick up the winners’ cup. Conor EDWARDS is hoping to retain his junior boys crown and win that event for a third time in a row. Charlotte CAREY however didn’t have the greatest competition in 2012 but will be fighting hard to put that right in the junior girls this time around. Laura EDWARDS (seeded 1) will face opposition in the cadet girls from Soffi Jenkins, Kate ROBERTS, Lydia JOHN and Charlotte SLYE. While Jac JENKINS (seeded 1) will try and fend off Callum EVANS, Thomas HEYDON and Lawrence JOHN in the cadet boys category. The various doubles and mixed doubles events offer fascinating encounters as do the Veteran and U21 singles. Whatever the outcome, there will be passion from the ‘Dragons’ who put themselves out there this March at the home of Welsh table tennis. (courtesy Welsh Table Tennis Association) Photo: Naomi OWEN