Liam Pitchford was unable to beat a second Chinese opponent at the WTT Contender Amman as he was knocked out in the last 16 by Lin Shidong.

Having overturned a 2-0 deficit to defeat Yan Sheng yesterday, Pitchford faced world No 37 Lin for a place in the quarter-finals.

The first two games were close throughout, Pitchford saving one game point at 9-10 in the first before going long with a forehand at 10-11.

The second saw Pitchford first to bring up a game point – he had two of them at 10-8 but could not close it out as his 17-year-old opponent won four points in a row.

From 4-4 in the third, Shidong pulled away to win 11-5 and set up a quarter-final against compatriot Xu Haidong (WR 124), who defeated world No 9 and top seed Darko Jorgic.

Result

Men’s Singles
Round of 16
Lin Shidong (CHN) bt Liam Pitchford 3-0 (12-10, 12-10, 11-5)