Liam Pitchford found world No 1 and top seed Lin Shidong in no mood to be the victim of a giantkilling in the first round of the Men’s Singles at the ITTF World Championships in Doha.

Pitchford played well for most of the match but Lin is No 1 for a reason and Pitchford could not have done a great deal more than he did.

The Englishman led the first game 6-3 and 8-7 but lost it as Lin put together three points in a row and then took his first game point.

The second saw Pitchford claw back an early four-point deficit and later save three game points from 7-10. But he could not fashion a chance of his own and lost the game on the next game point.

Lin tore through the third game 11-2 and it looked like the end was nigh, though Pitchford fought to the end, leading 5-3 in the fourth and then hitting back from 7-9 to 9-9. But Lin brought up a match point and took it with a booming forehand winner.

Earlier today, Anna Hursey suffered a heart-breaking exit from the Women’s Singles as she went out 4-3 to Amy Wang of the USA, having had a match point in the sixth game.

The Welsh athlete led the first 9-6 and 10-9, but missed her game point and then saved a remarkable eight Wang game points in a row before the American, ranked just two places above Hursey in the world at No 75, finally won the game 20-18.

Hursey roared back to take the second 11-3 and then went in front with an 11-9 scoreline in the third, winning three points in a row from 8-9 down.

When Hursey won the fourth 11-9, she was just a game away from setting up a second-round match against world No 4 Wang Yidi of China.

But Wang led throughout the fifth, taking it 11-6, and she made most of the running in the sixth, bringing up a game point at 11-9. Hursey saved that and then brought up a match point at 11-10, but Wang saved it and went on to win the game 13-11 and square up the match.

Coach John Murphy called the timeout at 0-3 in the decider, and Hursey pegged it back to 3-3 , but she never had parity again as Wang kept in front and took her first match point, winning the game 11-8.

A back injury picked up by Hursey during the match meant she and fellow Welshwoman Charlotte Carey were unable to fulfil their Women’s Doubles match against Ng Wing Lam & Zhu Chengzhu of Hong Kong, who went through by walkover.

Jang Woojin & Cho Daeseong had too much class for Liam Pitchford & Connor Green as the South Korean pair knocked the English out in the first round of the Men’s Doubles.

It was likely to be a tall order for the new English combination and they found their opponents just that bit sharper and more clinical.

It took a while for Pitchford & Green to get into the match and they were 6-1 down in the first, but managed to claw back to within two points before losing it 11-8.

They led the second 4-2 but a run of five points in a row for the Koreans turned the game in their favour.

When England trailed 3-0 in the third, they took their timeout, but it did not work out and they found themselves 6-0 and 9-1 down. They fought to the end, including saving two match points, but a Green backhand went long on the third match point as Jang & Cho booked their place in the last 32.

Watch on the WTT YouTube channel.

Results

Men’s Singles
Round of 128
Lin Shidong (CHN) bt Liam Pitchford 4-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-2, 11-9)

Women’s Singles
Round of 128
Amy Wang (USA) bt Anna Hursey (WAL) 4-3 (20-18, 3-11, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8)

Men’s Doubles
Round of 64
Jang Woojin & Cho Daeseong (KOR) bt Liam Pitchford & Connor Green 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-6)