Liam Pitchford
Liam Pitchfordborn on à Chesterfieldis a British table tennis player and member of the England and United Kingdom national teams.
Biography and sporting career
From an early age, Liam made a name for himself on the table tennis scene in his homeland, reaching the final of the 2010 English National Championships at the age of 16, losing to his compatriot Andrew Baggaley. He also took part in the 2012 olympic games à Londonat just 19 years of age. Liam then made a smooth transition to the senior category, breaking into the world's top fifty in November 2014 at the age of 20, and then going on to win a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
It was then that he made his mark at the world singles championshipsin China in 2015, successively beating the legendary Kalinikos Kreanga in the first round, followed by Portugal's Tiago Apoloniathen no 20 in the world. He also reached the last sixteen at the European championships of the same year in October, losing to Dimitrij Ovtcharovthe eventual winners of the title, after a good 4-2 match.
But it was in 2016 that Liam Pitchford really made his name in table tennis. At the time No.1 in his national team, he took off at the World Team Championships in 2016 at Kuala Lumpur by winning a magnificent bronze medal, something unheard of when England were not even among the best European teams. Liam made a name for himself there, playing a decisive role in winning the medal in the quarter-final match against France. He won both his matches against the two best French players. Emmanuel Lebesson and Simon Gauzy. He also showed his growing power in the semi-final against Japan, losing narrowly to the best Japanese player. Jun Mizutanithen ranked in the world's top 10.
So in 2016, the England team of Paul DrinkhallSamuel Walker and Liam Pitchford are making their presence felt in world table tennis, but mainly thanks to the latter. The England team reached the quarter-finals against the great China in the team competition of the 2016 Rio Olympics where Liam Pitchford did more to frighten the Chinese than harm them Ma Longwho was then the new Olympic champion, losing out by the narrowest of margins.
Finally, in 2018, Liam once again took his national team to international competitions, first with a bronze medal at the Men's Team World Cup in February and then a quarter-final place at the Men's World Cup. men's world team championships in May. He did very well there, particularly in the group match against Japan, one of the best table tennis nations in the world, crushing the Japanese hopefuls. Tomokazu Harimotothen Japan's No.1, Jun Mizutani.
At 25, Liam Pitchford is one of Europe's table tennis hopefuls. His world and European results show his potential, and it is possible that he will break into the world's top 10 in the near future. He is a four-time British singles champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018) and a six-time doubles champion (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), including the last five titles with the British team. Paul DrinkhallAnd once in mixed doubles, in 2018, with Tin-Tin Ho.
Liam Pitchford first played for German club TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen until 2016, before joining the French club La Rochelle in September of that year. Garde du Vœu Hennebont TT.
Personal life
Despite his fine results in 2016, Liam Pitchford was hit by depression that year when the chairman of his club in Ochsenhausen, Germany, died, taking a heavy toll on him. The latter was also his friend and one of his most loyal supporters. "It upset me, I felt a bit lost and I felt that my game was suffering as a result," he said. But champion introvertIt took him some time to speak out. That's why, in the summer of 2018, Liam didn't hesitate to bring his personal story out into the open and got involved in the "The big listen" campaign to promote the work of the British Samaritans, a charity that tries to provide round-the-clock emotional support to people in distress, via a free telephone platform. He said: "I've been helped. So it seemed normal to help others. At various charity events, I encourage people to talk...". Attacking with racket in hand, Liam Pitchford becomes the defender of these little hands, determined to help others simply by listening attentively.[ref. desired].
