Liam Pitchford lost for the third time this year to the European champion Qiu Dang of Germany in the first round of the WTT Champions Xinxiang.

Having pushed the German close in the semi-finals of the Europe Top 16 in February and then lost in three at the Singapore Smash last month, Pitchford was again paired with Dang in the draw in China.

The outcome was the same as their last meeting as Dang won in three to advance to the last 16.

Result

Men’s Singles
Round of 32
Qiu Dang (GER) bt Liam Pitchford 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-9)