Former English no. 1 Paul Drinkhall could return to action in England after the 23-year-old entered the Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix (October 19-20th, 2013).
Four-time National Men’s Singles Champion Drinkhall has been out of action since a hip problem forced him to miss the start of the season with his Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
However, after receiving treatment and beginning his road to recovery, Drinkhall may well appear at his ‘home’ Grand Prix in Newcastle’s Eldon Square Leisure Centre if the Loftus-born star passes a fitness test.
It would be the Olympians first appearance in England since the National Championships in March where his run of three consecutive Men’s Singles titles was halted in the final by 20-year-old Liam Pitchford.
He tops a strong Men’s Singles field including Scottish No. 1 Gavin Rumgay, Welsh No. 1 Ryan Jenkins and Irish No. 1 Paul McCreery. So far this season Welshman Jenkins has won two from two but he will also be wary of the presence of last season’s overall Champion Chris Doran, who also makes his return from injury.
Tees Sport Liverpool Grand Prix winner Sarah Berge leads the Women’s Singles ahead of England’s No. 6 Emma Vickers who makes her season bow.
There will also be all of the usual banded events as well as the Veterans’ Singles, Open Doubles and Under 21 competitions from the Eldon Square Leisure Centre.
The English Table Tennis Association will provide full coverage on the website, Twitter and Facebook so make sure you keep in touch with the latest updates using the hashtag #NewcastleGP
Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix Draw
Written by Russell Moore (October 9, 2013)