England have launched their bid for team medals in Glasgow in perfect style with a series of 3-0 wins.
The women’s team saw off Ghana and Trinidad & Tobago, while the men were victorious over Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, with every singles and doubles match being won 3-0.
The women were first into action against Ghana, with Joanna Drinkhall setting the tone for the day by beating Celia Baah-Danso. Kelly Sibley added victory in her singles clash before Tin-Tin Ho joined Sibley to claim the doubles, all in straight sets.
The men then enjoyed a matching 3-0 triumph over Jamaica thanks to singles success for Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford and doubles victory for Drinkhall and Andrew Baggaley.
Reflecting on the first match, Paul Drinkhall said: “I don’t think any of us played our best table tennis – we did get better throughout the match – but that is what we are looking to do and hopefully we will be ready when the bigger matches come.
“We got through 9-0 overall so it was a good result and it is a good confidence booster to move on.”
Of the women’s result this morning, Sibley said: “We were expected to win that match but you never know, so it is quite nice that it went as smoothly as it did. We prepared really well and I think that showed on the table.
“I’m just so glad to get that first game under my belt and get the nerves away.”
In the afternoon session, the same women’s line-up overcame Trinidad & Tobago with few alarms and the men made it a double over the Caribbean islands, with Daniel Reed coming into the doubles line-up in place of Baggaley.
Pitchford, who beat Dexter St Louis, said: “The guy I played I’ve known him for quite a while, he’s not a bad player so I knew what to expect really. I don’t think I played that well but I got the 3-0 victory and that’s the main thing.
“They are not the toughest matches we are going to have here. As we progress they are going to get harder but it’s nice to get these matches finished and get a rest.”
“We’re hitting our stride, we’ve all played well the four of us who played today. We are in good shape and hopefully we’ll win tomorrow and get to the quarter-finals.”
The women complete their group matches against Tanzania at 9.30am on Friday, while the men face Barbados at 11.10am. The first knockout round follows later on Friday.
Men’s Team Group 2:
England 3-0 Jamaica
Paul Drinkhall bt Simon Tomlinson 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-4)
Liam Pitchford bt Kane Watson 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-7)
Paul Drinkhall/Andrew Baggaley bt Simon Tomlinson/Christopher Marsh 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-3)
England 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
Paul Drinkhall bt Curtis Humphreys 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-3)
Liam Pitchford bt Dexter St Louis 3-0 (12-10, 11-3, 11-9)
Daniel Reed/Paul Drinkhall bt Aaron Wilson/Curtis Humphreys 3-0 (11-1, 11-6, 11-8)
Women’s Team Group 3:
England 3-0 Ghana
Joanna Drinkhall bt Celia Baah-Danso 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-7)
Kelly Sibley bt Cynthia Kwabi 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6)
Kelly Sibley/Tin-Tin Ho bt Celia Baah-Danso/Mareen Adom Amankwaa 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-7)
England 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
Joanna Parker bt Rheann Chung 3-0 (11-7, 12-10, 11-6)
Kelly Sibley bt Catherine Spicer 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1)
Kelly Sibley/Tin-Tin Ho bt Rheann Chung/Ashley Quashie 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-3)
July 24th, 2014