INTERNATIONALS Q&A

INTERNATIONALS Q&A

Meet International Players Interviewed by Archway 

To help you   get to know international players, Zak Cantor (right) from Archway has conducted interviews of them, covering some of the most interesting aspects of their playing lives.  By clicking on the image of a player, you will be taken to the information given by them.

Liam Pitchford

Do you have any main goals coming up in table tennis?

Once lockdown is over and the tournaments start again I am hoping to get into the top 10 in the world ranking list as soon as possible. I would love to get a medal at the European championships. I think both of these are very achievable as I have competed with all the top Chinese players and Europe players in the past. I am hoping to be peaking by the Olympics and get a medal there as well.

HOW HAVE YOU BEEN PREPARING FOR TRAINING AGAIN DURING LOCK DOWN FOR ONCE IT’S OVER? HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING HARD STILL?

At first it was terrible for me to hear about lockdown and couldn’t digest it properly however, at the beginning I was doing 2 physical fitness sessions a day that me and my coach put together for me. I messaged my sponsors Viktas who incredibly sent me a table and a robot so I can try and keep as sharp on the table as I possibly can. These days I’m getting bored and tired of this routine and just want to get back on the table and train properly soon.

How did it truly feel when you won against Ma Long? How were you feeling approaching the game?

When I’m about to play any table tennis match I simply always believe that I can win no matter who i am playing. I was very relaxed approaching the game, I knew I was playing very well in the qualification event and Ma Long was just returning from injury, i found myself 2-0 and 8-4 down but I continued to fight and ended up winning. I’ve defiantly played better matches in my life but it’s by far my best result.

When did you develop your relentless attacking style? Have you adapted to it because it’s needed at the top level? How did you come to learn this?

When I first started table tennis I was just very good at the basics and back then I would keep the ball on the table allot more along with my good basics. When I moved to the national centre my coach jai was there and instantly I started to attack allot more. Jai taught me that in table tennis, to try and be the best, you must look to attack every ball and take it as early as you possibly can, do not waste any opportunities and it’s much more beneficial to attack and miss the ball instead of just keeping it on. In Europe allot of table tennis players take a step back but jai ensured that me and Paul were always attacking and taking the ball early. That was what helped me so much mainly and still today I message jai all the time for advice on my game and he watches all my big games and talks to me after them for coaching points.

When struggling on the table in a match, how do you deal with it? What helps you get through these kind of matches to try and win them?

I know allot more than I used to about this because I’m always learning and I can use these games in the future to help me get out of tight situations. In the last few months I’ve gained allot of confidence as I’ve had a few weak performances but I still managed to grind through and get the results which shows that I have come on allot. For example, at the national championships it took me a while to get used to the balls and the conditions as they are from what I’m used to playing with. Struggled all tournaments but managed to use my technique and mind-set against my opponents very well to win me the tournament. In the semi-final against Sam Walker I was finding it difficult but pulled through nicely which shows an improvement in my mental game as well because I’ve lost before to Sam in those situations.

What are you opinions and thoughts of what you know about Archway Table Tennis Club?

I know Jai and Gareth and the project looks very good. I’m not sure on the goals and aims so I cannot comment on that but allot of the top players in England and Britain are starting to get involved there. This is what England need, if all the top players are training with each other it’s incredible in many ways but not just to benefit the players but it gives targets for the rest of the country to try and achieve. It’s a big step in the right direction.

Gareth Herbert

How keen/passionate are you about coaching? Was it the same when you were playing table tennis?

When I used to train, I couldn’t wait to play matches and watch Table Tennis when I used to get home after training. I was always very keen and put everything into table tennis for the years I played. I’m the same with coaching; I’m very keen and have been since I played at the commonwealth games. As soon as that was done I went straight into coaching and instantly fell in love with it. As soon as I finished playing, I suddenly got loads of invitations to coach at training camps or at clubs and training days. This defiantly helped towards my passionate coaching attitude that I have. I was one of the first people to complete a coaching course.

How did you get involved with Archway Table Tennis club originally?

When I first started coaching, Steve Williams (highly involved with Archway) rang me and asked if I could host a training camp in Stamford out of chance, this is how I was sort of introduced to the people who work for Archway these days. 12 years later, I now work for sixteen plus and played a big role in helping, creating and kick-starting Archway Table Tennis club into the academy it is today. Julian and I set all the goals for the club together from day one, thankfully allot of trust has been put into me and I’m heavily involved as I’m head coach of the table tennis club and I love being involved in such a big project.

Did you have any proud highlights that you would like to share regarding your coaching career before you coached at Archway?

When I first went started coaching one of the invites I received was from Pete Charters, who was highly involved with Etta at the time and had a high position there. Pete invited me to come and coach at King Fisher, so I went to have a look and after I led the first session, Pete said to me that none of these players have much potential which is the only problem with this club. I completely disagreed and I took the group and coached them. I coached all these players and eventually allot of them went on to represent their county, region and our country. The group had the likes of Richard Andrews, Maria Tsaptsinos and Tom Maynard. I really enjoyed coaching the group and helped allot of these players win national medals and improve their games drastically.

When did you start playing Table Tennis? And when did you first represent England?

I first started playing Table Tennis when I was 10. That was when I first ever picked up a bat. For the first 6 months I was only playing Sunday afternoons and then I was playing Fridays as well for a while. When I was 11 I first represented England at the under 14 European Youths and a year later I represented England at the Cadet European Youth championships. 

What was your highest playing level?

I would say that my best playing level was around 50 in the world. I had very strong chances against top players such as Primorak and I also managed to win against Korbel one time.

What did you achieve at the Commonwealth games that you played for England in?

I left the tournament with two gold medals. I won the team event and I won the doubles with Andrew Baggaley. In the team event, Baggaley wasn’t playing great, I got the opportunity to play the semi-final onwards. The team in the semi-final for Great Britain was the Kingfisher squad as we had Mathew Sayed, Terry Young and I. This made me feel very proud that the whole Britain team was my local clubs team . We played Nigeria in the final who took out the top seeds who were Singapore. This worked out perfect for us stylistically.

Why did you quit playing Table Tennis?

I quit Table Tennis due to burnout. I didn’t enjoy travelling anymore as it was getting too much. I put so much preparation into the Commonwealth games as it was such a big tournament for me but I made the mistake of not planning ahead. I always planned ahead in my table tennis career; I was always looking ahead and in the future. However, I didn’t look ahead because I was so focused on the Commonwealth games. Therefore, as soon as I hit the last ball at the tournament, I was already confused as to whether I want to carry playing on as I didn’t have any more goals.

Liam McTiernan

When did you start playing Table Tennis?

I started playing at the age of 10

At what age did you start taking it more seriously and did this decision pay off? What level have u played at?

I started playing more seriously when I was around 13/14 years old. For the first couple of years I only played the likes of national cadet league and never even managed to get out the top 100 in England for under 13,s. When I was 14 when I decided to start taking it more seriously, I went to China to train with Greenhouse. When I came back I jumped from around 125 in cadets to top 30 and It all started there. I was very keen from that success so carried on pushing as the years went on. I ended up as a top 5 junior, winning a couple of 4 stars and getting a bronze medal in the under 21 nationals. However, after I finished juniors, I decided to go to university whereas other people in my age group such as Danny Lawrence, Lewis Grey and George Downing decided to move abroad and try and be a professional player. I have been ranked between 25 and 40 in men’s for 8 years in a row so I have managed to maintain my level since taking a step back which is good.

What is your biggest achievement in table tennis off the table?

I won national volunteer of the year award by table tennis England during one of my years at University there. When I first joined Nottingham University, there were only around 4 players, there was no table tennis club or anything properly set up. There were no social events or any social media. There was just nothing there. I essentially created the club alongside Nicola Deaton. When the club started building we managed to get Gavin Evans, Kelly Sibley and Alan Cooke In the coaching team. What the university has today is one of the greatest set ups in this country for table tennis. Allot of the England coaches are involved, there are many top players in this country who now choose Nottingham University because of their table tennis. This all came from my foundations and I worked very hard to help achieve this. I am very proud of what I managed to do as just a student and I was also very happy that Table Tennis England recognised this.

As you are very passionate about improving and creating the best atmosphere/ social and training we can possibly get in England due to what you managed to create at Nottingham, are there any specific messages that you like to give off when you play these days to the younger generation aspiring to be top players?

Yes, whenever I play these days I’m very passionate still and always want to win. I have a full time job as a strategy consultant for 02 and I don’t want to be a professional table tennis player anymore but I still love playing and want to pick up as many results as I can. However, when I play I treat it like a war, I will give everything I can in every match I play and constantly fight. I want to show people that it’s all about the war and the fight whilst maintaining a professional attitude. It’s not always about winning everything. It’s a professional sport so it should be treated like that.

What are your thoughts on Archway Table Tennis Club?

First, overall, it’s only good for the sport that Archway Peterborough has been established. The growth that the club has experienced in the last 2 years is honestly outstanding and every single person involved should be extremely proud. Archway is the perfect club in the UK where players can be full time players if that’s what they want to do, especially to those players who didn’t have the opportunity as a junior in terms of training/coaching who are still very hungry to try and make it as a professional table tennis player. It seems to me that Archways isn’t just trying to improve everyone table tennis but other important life skills as well. It’s brilliant because people can learn allot about coaching there and even become coaches through Archway after they have stopped playing. There seem to be people who are building up their other careers as well as trying to improve their table tennis. People are training and learning constant life skills. This is fantastic as the club is also helping everyone in other areas.
Share by: