Liam Pitchford recently became the English number 1 and he has his sights set on the highest British world ranking after leaping 69 places from 269th to 200th in the October ITTF ranking list. Pitchford has previously been at the Commonwealth Games and won both a team silver and doubles bronze alongisde Andrew Baggaley, but it is his recent achievements that have brought him into the headlines. At the European Championships he beat four players in the world top 100 including number 9 Vladimir Samsonov and number 20 Alexey Smirnov.
Name:
Liam Pitchford
Date of birth:
12/07/93
Club:
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Who are you?
I am a table tennis player, who is currently ranked number 2 in England. I have recently signed for one of the top clubs in the world, which I hope will help progress my game to the top level.
Proudest moment:
Winning two medals at the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi
When/how did you get involved with table tennis:
I got involved in table tennis when I was nine at my junior school. It was a rainy day and me and two other friends went along so we had something to do and it progressed from there.
What does the Olympics mean to you?
The Olympics is the biggest event in the world and it would be a dream come true to compete in one – especially in my home country.