Paul Drinkhall and Tin-Tin Ho were both knocked out in the first qualifying round of the Singapore Smash.

Ho was first in action and was somewhat outclassed by world No 96 Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong, going out 3-0 (11-7, 11-1, 11-2).

Also in the Women’s Singles, Wales’ Anna Hursey was defeated in a close five-setter against world No 62 Li Yu-Jhun of Chinese Taipei, having recovered from 2-0 down to force a decider.

In the men’s, Drinkhall was up against Benedek Olah of Finland, ranked eight places below him at No 122, and it went to a decider as Drinkhall saved two match points in the fourth.

However, he could not keep the momentum going and was defeated 11-4 in the final game.

Only Liam Pitchford now remains in the singles – the main draw begins on Monday and Pitchford was today drawn to face Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh (WR 53) in the round of 64.

In the Men’s Doubles, Pitchford & Drinkhall have been drawn to face Nandor Ecseki & Bence Majoros of Hungary in the round of 32, with the winners to face China’s Lin Gaoyuan & Ma Long.

In the Women’s Doubles, Ho & Hursey will play Sofia Polcanova (AUT) & Bernadette Szocs (ROU) in the round of 32, with the winners to face top seeds Chen Meg & Wang Manyu of China.

Results

Women’s Singles
Qualifying round one
Lee Ho Ching (HKG) bt Tin-Tin Ho 3-0 (11-7, 11-1, 11-2)

Men’s Singles
Qualifying round one
Benedek Olah (FIN) bt Paul Drinkhall 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 11-3, 13-15, 11-4)