PAUL DRINKHALL had to settle for doubles gold at the Mark Bates Ltd National Table Tennis Championships after his partner, Liam Pitchford, beat him in the singles final.

Drinkhall, who is from Loftus, was second seed and duly reached the final against his fellow Rio Olympian, Pitchford, the top seed who was defending his title.

Drinkhall got off to a fast start and won the first two games, but Pitchford showed the qualities which have seen him ranked as high as no 12 in the world in recent months to come back and win 4-2.

It means Pitchford joins Drinkhall, Denis Neale and Alan Cooke in joint second in the all-time half of fame, with six singles titles – five behind the legendary Desmond Douglas.

Drinkhall said: “Liam was maybe slightly off it in the beginning, but I think I controlled the tactics really well.

“I think then he settled in and managed to read the tactics and know what was going on and I think after that maybe I forced it a little bit and lost a bit of control. That’s why he’s a very good player because he kept his composure throughout. A point here or there could have made a difference.”

Earlier, Drinkhall survived a scare as the Under-21 champion, Luke Savill, fought back from 3-0 down to force a deciding set in the last 16. However, Drinkhall’s experience saw him over the line 4-3.

“He did play well,” said Drinkhall. “I can’t say I ever thought I was going to lose but I was overthinking things and maybe getting a bit nervous. Once it was 3-3, I was quite relaxed again.”

Drinkhall went on to enjoy a 4-0 win over Josh Bennett in the quarter-finals and it was 4-1 against fourth seed Tom Jarvis in the semis.

In the men’s doubles, Commonwealth Games gold medallists Drinkhall and Pitchford won the title for the seventh time, missing a match point in the third game but eventually getting past Jarvis and Sam Walker 3-2.

Drinkhall has little time to enjoy his triumph, however, as he is competing at the Qatar Open this week.