Liam Pitchford
Chesterfield Liam Pitchford
ChesterfieldBiography
Liam first turned heads on the international stage at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, winning two medals at the age of 17, and he went on to represent Team GB at London 2012 at the age of 19.
Since then, he has gone on to compete at two more Olympic Games, one of only three British players to have achieved that feat, competing in both the singles and team events at Rio 2016 and the singles at Tokyo 2020.
Medal success
He has won a host of international medals, including three at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – Mixed Doubles silver with Tin-Tin Ho, Men’s Team silver and a landmark Men’s Singles bronze. At Gold Coast 2018, Liam won gold alongside Paul Drinkhall in the Men’s Doubles, repeated his silver medal with Tin-Tin and won Men’s Team bronze, making him England’s most decorated Commonwealth Games table tennis athlete. At Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games he achieved the best ever English singles result at the Games winning a silver medal, along with his second men’s doubles gold with Paul Drinkhall and Men’s Team bronze.
In 2023, he won bronze at the Europe Top 16.
He also represented GB at the inaugural European Games.
Liam was a key part of the England team which won bronze at the World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur in 2016, alongside Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker – England’s first medals at the event since 1983.
The trio, with David McBeath and Tom Jarvis also in the squad, added Team World Cup bronze on home soil in 2018 at the Copper Box Arena on London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Career high
He reached a career high of No 12 in the world in August 2019 and in March 2020 became the first English player to reach an ITTF Platinum World Tour event final, losing narrowly to world No 1 Fan Zhendong. He and Paul Drinkhall reached the Men’s Doubles final at the same event, losing to China’s Ma Long & Xu Xin.
Major appearances and career highlights
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham | 2022 | Men’s Singles silver; Men’s Doubles gold (with Paul Drinkhall), Men’s Team bronze |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo | 2020 (21) | Men’s Singles last 32 |
| Qatar Open | 2020 | Men’s Singles silver; Men’s Doubles silver (with Paul Drinkhall) | |
| Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast | 2018 | Men’s Doubles gold (with Paul Drinkhall); Mixed Doubles silver (with Tin-Tin Ho); Men’s Team bronze |
| ITTF Team World Cup | London | 2018 | Men’s Team bronze |
| Olympic Games | Rio | 2016 | Men’s Singles last 32; Men’s Team quarter-finals |
| ITTF World Team Championships | Kuala Lumpur | 2016 | Men’s Team bronze |
| Commonwealth Games | Glasgow | 2014 | Mixed Doubles silver (with Tin-Tin Ho); Men’s Team silver; Men’s Singles bronze |
| Olympic Games | London | 2012 | Men’s Team first round |
| Commonwealth Games | Delhi | 2010 | Men’s Team silver; Men’s Doubles bronze (with Andrew Baggaley) |
Latest News
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Pitchford sees a Major opportunity in America
Liam Pitchford is joining the Major League Table Tennis revolution next season.
Injured Pitchford out of Olympics Mixed Doubles qualifier
Liam Pitchford is out of the World Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification tournament with a shoulder injury picked up in a French League match.