Liam Pitchford believes he is playing his best table tennis at the Commonwealth Games as he looks to leave Birmingham with more than just his bronze from the men’s team event.
Chesterfield star Pitchford beat Singapore’s Yew En Koen Pang to progress to the last eight of the men’s singles having already booked a semi-final in the men’s doubles with Paul Drinkhall.
Pitchford edged a frenetic first game 17-15 before grabbing control of the match and ease away from his opponent and wrap up an emphatic 4-0 victory.
And the 29-year-old believes he is peaking at the right time.
"It feels great,” said Pitchford. “It’s probably the best feeling I have had in table tennis for a long time. I can't really describe it,
“I played one of the best matches I have played in a long time.”
This summer, Team England, supported by funding raised by National Lottery players, comprises of over 400 athletes, all vying for medal success.
Pitchford’s victory rounded off a terrific day for England at the NEC, with Drinkhall and Sam Walker also progressing in the singles.
The doubles partnership of Drinkhall and Pitchford were even both playing their singles matches alongside one another at one stage, sending the crowd into overdrive.
And Pitchford believes the home support is helping him at the table.
“It is massive, it gives me a few extra points a set for sure,” added Pitchford.
“Especially when I was down set point in the first set, there were a few big rallies, I was trying to stay in the points.
“Knowing the crowd was behind me, I just tried to win the points somehow.
“It was really good and to have all of my teammates behind me, I’m growing in confidence.”
It sets up another busy day for Pitchford, who will look to secure progression to the men’s singles semi-finals at 10..10am before teaming up with Drinkhall in the doubles at 12.25pm.
But Pitchford is determined not to get ahead of himself with plenty of table tennis still to play.
“I just have to give my all in every match, set and point I play,” said Pitchford.
“I know that if I play like that, then there are not many players that can live with me and it’s just about doing that tomorrow and the day after that if I need to.”
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Taiwan held an artillery drill Tuesday simulating a defence against an attack as its top diplomat accused Beijing of preparing to invade the island after days of massive Chinese war games. China launched its largest-ever air and sea exercises around Taiwan last week in a furious response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to visit the self-ruled island in decades. Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which views its neighbour as part of Chinese territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary. "China has used the drills and its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan," Joseph Wu told a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday, accusing Beijing of using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action. "China's real intention is to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and entire region," he said. Taipei's drill started in the southern county of Pingtung shortly after 0040 GMT with the firing of target flares and artillery, ending just under an hour later at 0130 GMT, said Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan's Eighth Army Corps. Soldiers fired from howitzers tucked into the coast, hidden from view of the road that leads to popular beach destination Kenting. The drills, which will also take place Thursday, included the deployment of hundreds of troops and about 40 howitzers, the army said. On Monday, Lou told AFP the drills had been scheduled previously and were not in response to China's exercises. The island routinely stages military drills simulating defence against a Chinese invasion, and last month practised repelling attacks from the sea in a "joint interception operation" as part of its largest annual exercises. The anti-landing exercises come after China extended its own joint sea and air drills around Taiwan on Monday, but Washington said it did not expect an escalation from Beijing. "I'm not worried, but I'm concerned they're moving as much as they are. But I don't think they're going to do anything more than they are," Biden told reporters at Dover Air Force Base. China has not confirmed if its drills in the Taiwan Strait will continue Tuesday. But Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu condemned Beijing for extending its military exercises around the island, accusing them of trying to control the Taiwan Strait and waters in the wider Asia-Pacific region. "It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyber-attacks, a disinformation campaign and economic coercion in order to weaken public morale in Taiwan," he said. Wu went on to thank Western allies, including the US after Pelosi's visit, for standing up to China. "It also sends a clear message to the world that democracy will not bow to the intimidation of authoritarianism," he said. – 'Not worried' – Taiwan has insisted that no Chinese warplanes or ships entered its territorial waters — within 12 nautical miles of land — during Beijing's drills. The Chinese military, however, released a video last week of an air force pilot filming the island's coastline and mountains from his cockpit, showing how close it had come to Taiwan's shores. Its ships and planes have also regularly crossed the median line — an unofficial demarcation between China and Taiwan that the former does not recognise — since drills began last week. Ballistic missiles were fired over Taiwan's capital, Taipei, during the exercises last week, according to Chinese state media. On Tuesday, the Chinese military released more details about the anti-submarine drills it had conducted a day earlier around the island. The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater command said the exercises were aimed at enhancing the ability of air and sea units to work together while hunting submarines. It said maritime patrol aircraft, fighter jets, helicopters and a destroyer practiced locating and attacking targets in the waters off Taiwan. The scale and intensity of China's drills — as well as its withdrawal from key talks on climate and defence — have triggered outrage in the United States and other democracies. The drills have also shown how an increasingly emboldened Chinese military could carry out a gruelling blockade of the island, experts say. But Beijing on Monday defended its behaviour as "firm, forceful and appropriate" to American provocation. "(We) are only issuing a warning to the perpetrators," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing, promising China would "firmly smash the Taiwan authorities' illusion of gaining independence through the US". "We urge the US to do some earnest reflection, and immediately correct its mistakes." aw-jfx/cwl
Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of rocket strikes that killed 13 civilians in areas near a Russian-held power plant, where renewed fighting has raised fears of a nuclear disaster. The overnight strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine also injured 11 people, with five reported to be in a serious condition. "It was a terrible night, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram, urging residents to shelter when they hear air raid sirens. "I am asking and begging you… Don't let the Russians kill you," he wrote, adding that Russia had fired a total of 80 rockets at the area. Most of the casualties were in the town of Marganets, just across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's biggest. Regional council head Mykola Lukashuk said the strikes had hit a local power line, leaving thousands of people without electricity. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of recent shelling around the plant itself. Ukraine says Russia has stationed hundreds of troops and stored ammunition at the plant. The tensions have brought back memories of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in then Soviet Ukraine, which killed hundreds of people and spread radioactive contamination over much of Europe. The plant was captured by Russian troops on March 4 after a battle with Ukrainian forces. – Beachgoers fleeing – The strikes came a day after major blasts at the Saki airfield, a key military base on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula. Dramatic amateur footage on social media appeared to show panicked holidaymakers fleeing a Crimean beach with young children, as ballooning clouds of grey smoke rose over the horizon. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and has used the region as a staging ground for its attacks, but it has rarely been a target for Ukrainian forces. Moscow insisted that the explosions were caused by detonating ammunition rather than Ukrainian fire. Ukraine's army, which for months pleaded for long-range artillery from Western allies, has been hitting targets deeper in Russian-held territory since some started arriving in recent weeks. Kyiv has also taken credit for several acts of sabotage inside Russian-held territory. – New buyer for Ukraine grain? – The war has severely hampered grain supply from Ukraine, leading to an international food crisis as it is one of the world's biggest producers. But some ships have been able to leave Ukrainian ports in recent days after a deal with Russia brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. The first grain shipment to leave on the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Razoni departed the Ukrainian port of Odessa on August 1 and had been expected to dock in the Lebanese port of Tripoli at the weekend. But the Ukrainian embassy said a new buyer for the shipment was being sought after the original Lebanese buyer cancelled the order. A five-month delay after Russia's invasion "prompted the buyer and the shipping agent to reach agreement on the cancellation of the order," the Ukraine embassy said in a statement late Tuesday. It is currently anchored off the Turkish port of Mersin. bur-dt/jv
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Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps confirmed drills had started in southern county of Pingtung
Taiwan held an artillery drill Tuesday simulating a defence against an attack as its top diplomat accused Beijing of preparing to invade the island after days of massive Chinese war games. China launched its largest-ever air and sea exercises around Taiwan last week in a furious response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to visit the self-ruled island in decades. Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which views its neighbour as part of Chinese territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary. "China has used the drills and its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan," Joseph Wu told a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday, accusing Beijing of using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action. "China's real intention is to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and entire region," he said. Taipei's drill started in the southern county of Pingtung shortly after 0040 GMT with the firing of target flares and artillery, ending just under an hour later at 0130 GMT, said Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan's Eighth Army Corps. Soldiers fired from howitzers tucked into the coast, hidden from view of the road that leads to popular beach destination Kenting. The drills, which will also take place Thursday, included the deployment of hundreds of troops and about 40 howitzers, the army said. On Monday, Lou told AFP the drills had been scheduled previously and were not in response to China's exercises. The island routinely stages military drills simulating defence against a Chinese invasion, and last month practised repelling attacks from the sea in a "joint interception operation" as part of its largest annual exercises. The anti-landing exercises come after China extended its own joint sea and air drills around Taiwan on Monday, but Washington said it did not expect an escalation from Beijing. "I'm not worried, but I'm concerned they're moving as much as they are. But I don't think they're going to do anything more than they are," Biden told reporters at Dover Air Force Base. China has not confirmed if its drills in the Taiwan Strait will continue Tuesday. But Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu condemned Beijing for extending its military exercises around the island, accusing them of trying to control the Taiwan Strait and waters in the wider Asia-Pacific region. "It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyber-attacks, a disinformation campaign and economic coercion in order to weaken public morale in Taiwan," he said. Wu went on to thank Western allies, including the US after Pelosi's visit, for standing up to China. "It also sends a clear message to the world that democracy will not bow to the intimidation of authoritarianism," he said. – 'Not worried' – Taiwan has insisted that no Chinese warplanes or ships entered its territorial waters — within 12 nautical miles of land — during Beijing's drills. The Chinese military, however, released a video last week of an air force pilot filming the island's coastline and mountains from his cockpit, showing how close it had come to Taiwan's shores. Its ships and planes have also regularly crossed the median line — an unofficial demarcation between China and Taiwan that the former does not recognise — since drills began last week. Ballistic missiles were fired over Taiwan's capital, Taipei, during the exercises last week, according to Chinese state media. On Tuesday, the Chinese military released more details about the anti-submarine drills it had conducted a day earlier around the island. The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater command said the exercises were aimed at enhancing the ability of air and sea units to work together while hunting submarines. It said maritime patrol aircraft, fighter jets, helicopters and a destroyer practiced locating and attacking targets in the waters off Taiwan. The scale and intensity of China's drills — as well as its withdrawal from key talks on climate and defence — have triggered outrage in the United States and other democracies. The drills have also shown how an increasingly emboldened Chinese military could carry out a gruelling blockade of the island, experts say. But Beijing on Monday defended its behaviour as "firm, forceful and appropriate" to American provocation. "(We) are only issuing a warning to the perpetrators," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing, promising China would "firmly smash the Taiwan authorities' illusion of gaining independence through the US". "We urge the US to do some earnest reflection, and immediately correct its mistakes." aw-jfx/cwl
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