Liam Pitchford’s disappointment at the Tokyo Olympics is fuelling his desire to claim Commonwealth gold in Birmingham this summer.
The Nottingham table tennis star was eliminated in the round of 32 stage last summer, believing that the one-year delay to the event devastated his medal hopes.
With eight Commonwealth medals already to his name, Pitchford is confident he can add to his tally having thrived at these Games for over a decade.
“Tokyo came at the wrong time for me after the delay,” he said.
“I was playing really well before lockdown; I was in the form of my life and then I didn’t play for a while.
“Tournaments have been on and off since then. I didn’t quite get back to how I wanted to play before Tokyo.
“It’s spurred me on, I know more about myself and how I need to prepare and how I need to be mentally. I’m going to take some of that disappointment into Birmingham and hopefully use it in a positive way.”
This summer, Team England, supported by National Lottery funding, will comprise of over 400 athletes in total, and having secured his place on the squad, Pitchford is looking to capitalise on the once in a lifetime opportunity for medal success in his home country.
He is relishing the opportunity of linking up with athletes from a few sports as part of Team England this summer, something which he believes has underpinned his success in previous Commonwealth Games.
The 28-year-old won his first gold in the men’s doubles in Gold Coast and fondly remembers his interaction with athletes from other disciplines.
“With it being a multi-sport Games, being around other athletes and other sports makes it different to what you’re used to,” he said.
“Team England does a great job of getting everyone together and on the same wavelength.
“If you see a track athlete or a swimmer doing well it spurs you on to win medals so it’s a great environment and atmosphere and something I’m looking forward to again.
“As a racket sport we spend a lot of time with the badminton guys but as you go into the village, whether your friends already or not, everyone is friendly and supporting each other.”
Pitchford does admit that his previous success in this event, added to the pressure of an expectant home crowd, means this Games will be unlike any of his previous four.
Having overcome the final hurdle to achieve gold in Australia, he is targeting top spot across multiple events this summer.
Asked how we can top his achievement of four years, Pitchford said: “Win more than one!”
“I had won eight medals but that was my first gold.
“So, it was really special and something I had grown up wanting to do. To do it was a relief because I had been close so many times.
“I know what I need to do, and I know now what it takes.
“Playing four events is an opportunity to win four medals, I don’t want to put pressure on myself but there’s a chance to do that if I’m in the right frame of mind.”
As a child, Pitchford was a fan of tennis and football until he discovered table tennis one school lunchtime at Brimington Junior School in Chesterfield.
Now a mainstay of the world's top 20, he recalls developing an immediate affection for the sport, one which he was encouraged to pursue full-time once he fulfilled his parents’ request of completing his studies.
“Apparently I had natural talent, I don’t really know what that means but I felt like I had some sort of skill for it, and it just clicked with me and my personality,” he said.
“The speed and the skill involved, it was something I had to try and master.”
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