Liam Pitchford lost out to the higher-ranked Japanese player Maharu Yoshimura in the first round of the Singapore Smash.
Having won three qualifying matches to get to the main draw, Pitchford (WR 57) was in the top quadrant of the draw, with the incentive of a possible meeting against top seed Wang Chuqin in the last 16.
To keep that dream alive, he had to get past the world No 37 Yoshimura, but missed out in four.
Six successive points from 5-4 down set Yoshimura on his way to winning the first, but Pitchford hit back to take the second 11-9, having clawed back a 5-1 deficit.
The third, so often pivotal, proved to be so again as Yoshimura took it 12-10 on his second game point, and he then made most of the running in the fourth to seal his passage into the last 32.
Earlier, Pitchford dug deep to defeat India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to reach the main draw.
Pitchford won his only previous meeting with Gnanasekaran in the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, on his way to taking the silver medal.
This time, in their third qualifying round tie, his opponent struck the first blow as he won the first 13-11, both men having saved a game point.
The second was tight up to 6-6, when Pitchford got a yellow card for hitting the ball away after serving into the net. He lost the next point but then took five in a row with some quality play to level the match.
It was 11-7 in the third as well, Pitchford pulling clear from 5-5, but Gnanasekaran was always ahead in the fourth, taking it 11-9 on his third game point.
When the Indian took the first four points, and six of the first eight, in the decider, Pitchford faced elimination. But he took seven of the next eight points to turn the tide and then brought up two match points. He only needed one and bellowed his approval at earning his place in the main draw.
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In the first qualifying round against Borgar Haug of Norway (WR 87), the English No 1 was always in charge of the first game against his left-handed opponent, but hit a sticky patch in the second as he saw a 3-2 lead become a 5-9 deficit and ended up losing it 11-6.
Pitchford flew through the third for the loss of only two points – one of them when he was already on game point.
Baug took his timeout at 0-3 in the fourth and gradually whittled away Pitchford’s lead. The Norwegian won the game 11-9 to send it to a decider.
Although Pitchford went behind several times, he was never more than a point back, and a run of four points from 3-4 put him in control. He never relinquished it and ended the match with a thumping forehand winner.
Pitchford (WR 57) then beat Lubomir Pistej of Slovakia in four games in the second qualifying round, recovering from a slow start in the first – which he trailed 7-1.
Seven points out of eight put him back in the game, but he still had to save game points at 10-9 and 11-10 before taking it 13-11.
The second saw Pitchford in front up to 9-9. He then saved a game point, but Pistej (WR 129) took his second chance and won it 12-10.
Four points in a row from 7-6 down broke the back of the third game for Pitchford, and a streak of six points in the middle of the fourth set him on his way to clinching the match 13-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7.
Tom Jarvis had a tough first qualifying round tie against Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, the second highest-ranked player in qualifying and at No 40 in the world ranked 113 places above him.
Jarvis led the first 4-2 but his opponent took the next five points to open a lead he never lost, and Wong got on an even bigger run in the second with eight points in a row from 4-3 down.
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Jarvis never led the third but was level at 6-6 and, after saving three match points, 10-10. However, Wong took his next match point to win the game 12-10 and end the contest.
Wales’ Anna Hursey started her campaign with a 3-1 (11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4) win over Constantina Psihogios of Australia in the first qualifying round of the Women’s Singles. However, she was then defeated 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-4) by former World No 1 Zhu Yuling, once of China but now representing Macau, in the second qualifying round.
British Para players Aaron McKibbin, Billy Shilton and Grace Williams will compete in the para showcase event which starts on Monday.
Results
Men’s Singles
First qualifying round
Liam Pitchford bt Borgar Haug (NOR) 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-6)
Wong Chun Ting (HKG) bt Tom Jarvis 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 12-10)
Second qualifying round
Pitchford bt Lubomir Pistej (SVK) 3-1 (13-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7)
Third qualifying round
Pitchford bt Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND) 3-2 (11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8)
Round of 64
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN) bt Pitchford 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7)