Before the break caused by the pandemic of COVID-19 that has led to the suspension of all international table tennis action Liam PITCHFORD produced one of the best performances of his career to became the first English player to reach an ITTF World Tour Platinum men’s singles final at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open. On his way to the penultimate stage he beat world no.1 XU Xin.
In the first three months of this year PITCHFORD has been a top eight finisher at the CCB 2020 Europe Top 16 Cup crowned English national champion for a sixth time a semi-finalist at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open and runner-up at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.
In anticipation of the better times for sport and opportunity to continues his good run we talked with Liam about his starts.
“I was around eight or nine years old and I was at school normally we were always outside playing football but this lunchtime it was raining so me and my friends went inside to try out the table tennis club that the school started and we carried on playing from there ” said Liam about his beginnings.
It took a while before he realised – that is it.
“ I would say it was when I was 13/14 and I started to go to the national training center in Sheffield and see the likes of Paul playing professionally that I knew I also wanted to do it. My first ever award was probably from a local league tournament in my hometown Chesterfield I think.”
Do you ever thought about quitting?
“ Yes there have been some tough periods during my career but I managed to get through them and come out a stronger person for it.”
England caused arguably one of the biggest shocks of the year when they left the 2016 World Team Championships with an unexpected Men’s Team bronze medal but for Liam it is not the top moment to memorize.
“ I will always remember the World Championships bronze medal we won in 2016 but for me I will remember more the Commonwealth games gold medal me and Paul won in doubles because I always dreamed of winning gold since watching on TV as a child.“
PITCHFORD has always had the potential to pose problems for the world’s best on the big stage showing it from an early point in his career when he beat Vladimir Samsonov at the 2011 European Championships aged 18. We asked about the dark moments.
“ I wouldn’t say I have regrets if course I’m disappointed with some matches and tournaments I have played but I try not to dwell on them and focus on my next match. Speaking about bad moments there have been a few most recent not qualifying a team for Olympic Games it was a bad tournament for all of us..”
What will stay as you legacy?
“ I hope that I can inspire the next generation of table tennis players in the UK show them that people from the UK can compete with the best table tennis countries in the world.”
It is hard to predict when the sport will set in motion again but we all hope it will be soon.
“The next goal in table tennis will be to qualify for Olympics and also to hopefully carry on my good form from before the lockdown. But right now the aim is to stay safe and healthy and get through these tough times together.”
