Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford were both eliminated from the Korea Open, losing to players from the higher reaches of the world rankings in the round of 32.

Drinkhall took two sets off world No 11 Fang Bo of China, while Pitchford was beaten in five by Korea’s Youngsik Jeoung, ranked No 13.

Click here to watch Liam’s match

The event in Incheon is one of the strongest on the ITTF circuit, with the 16 seeds all in the world top 20. The two English players and team-mate Sam Walker will now return to Europe to continue their preparations for the Rio Olympics.

Results

Fang Bo (CHN) bt Paul Drinkhall 4-2 (11-6, 17-15, 3-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3)
Youngsik Jeoung (KOR) bt Liam Pitchford 4-1 (11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11)