PAUL Drinkhall expected to be going camping this summer - instead he is into the last 32 of the Olympic Games.

The Middlesbrough-born table tennis star, who was raised in Loftus, East Cleveland, initially agonisingly missed out on qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

However, a slot in the men’s singles opened up when the legendary Vladimir Samsonov was forced to withdraw through injury and miss out on a seventh consecutive Olympics.

As first reserve, Drinkhall got the call, and the North-Easterner has seized the unexpected opportunity with both hands.

Having dispatched Nima Alamian in the first round of Olympic competition, he recorded an impressive 4-1 victory (13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6) over Robert Gardos today – a man ranked 33 places above him in the world – in round two at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Drinkhall battled back from 10-5 down to win the first game, and although Austria’s Gardos took the second, the Brit reeled off three straight games to claim a memorable victory that definitely beats pitching a tent.

“I thought I’d be camping because that was the alternative plan if I didn’t come here,” explained Drinkhall, who is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

“I know that I’m capable of good things and my game, when I get everything together, can challenge the best. That’s what I was planning for.

“Not qualifying initially was a disappointment, but now I’m here and performing how I expect and how I train to perform.

“He (Gardos) is a great player and I’ve always struggled against him in the past – I’ve had a couple of close ones, but also a few where I’ve lost easily, so I’m very, very happy to come through a game like that against a player like him.

“It was 4-1 but it certainly wasn’t straightforward. I felt in control for a lot of the match although obviously he had a big lead in the first set but I kept fighting and managed to win that.”

Drinkhall will look to continue his remarkable run tomorrow, when he faces another step up in quality against world numbe 12 and ninth seed at the Games, Jang Woojin of South Korea.

And while the Teeside native insists he’s not feeling any pressure despite being the replacement for a table tennis legend, he is looking forward to giving Jang a run for his money with a place in the last 16 on the line.

“Vlad (Samsonov) was injured and pulled out, so you could say technically I got his spot but I was the one who got myself into that first reserve position,” added Drinkhall.

“I got myself where I needed to be if somebody pulled out.

"Plan A was to qualify, but Plan B was to make sure my ranking was there to come in if that was the case.

“Here I am and I’m competing and doing well. I’m feeling good, I’m sure he (Jang) is feeling good, I’m sure he’s prepared and it will be a great match.”

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