Sam Walker’s historic journey to the final of WTT Feeder Chennai was not just about his opponents at the other end of the table.

It was a tale of a delayed flight, a missed connection, an unexpected stopover, a detour via a third country and lost luggage – all before he made it to the venue.

So it’s no surprise the No 3-ranked English player says he is proud of the performance he put in back of a nightmare journey.

Walker’s flight from London to Qatar was delayed, meaning he missed his connection and had to stay overnight in the Gulf state, before finding an onward flight to Chennai – via Sri Lanka.

To make matters worse, he finally arrived in Chennai to discover his luggage had gone astray. Fortunately, his bat and shoes were in hand luggage, but he was forced to scour local shops for some kit before he took to the table.

If he was stressed and/or jet-lagged, Walker shook it off and delivered a fantastic run which so nearly ended with the gold medal and becoming only the second senior English player to win a WTT singles title.

“I haven’t played a lot of international tournaments in the last few years, for my own reasons, but I have the intention of starting to play more this season and trying to get more matches under my belt,” said Walker.

“This event, and going to Portugal this week, was the start of that process of playing more tournaments regularly.

“A journey of 30 hours, with an unplanned night in Qatar, and having to buy some plain clothes – my bag arrived just before the quarter-finals . . .  obviously that wasn’t a good start.

“But it made it all worth it with how well I played at the start of this plan I’ve got for myself.”

It could have been even better as Walker stood tantalisingly within two points of taking the title and emulating Liam Pitchford’s performance in winning WTT Feeder Manchester in 2025.

“To have such a good performance was really pleasing, but also disappointing that I was 2-0, 9-6 up and could have won that match,” said Walker.

“I think he was brave at 9-6 down and, though I wasn’t thinking about it (the match situation), maybe I got a little bit stiff.

“But I don’t think I did a lot wrong. He took more risks and I didn’t have a lot of answers, but he’s a top player and that’s what he can do.

“I’m happy with the tournament overall and proud of coming second.”

Walker also had the bonus of picking up 90 world ranking points, which moved him up 42 places in the rankings to No 117, just one place behind Connor Green.