Paul Drinkhall won the English Championship in 2007,2009,2011,2012,2016,2017 and 2024.
24 Facts About Paul Drinkhall
1.
2.
Paul Drinkhall enjoyed much success as a youngster, winning numerous national championships at his age level, and at levels above his own age.
3.
Paul Drinkhall was again shortlisted for this award in 2007.
4.
In 2010 Paul Drinkhall signed with the Belgian Super Division club Nodo TTC Ekeren.
5.
Paul Drinkhall has been National Champion in every age group so far eligible to compete in - Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 14, Under 17, and Senior Men.
6.
Paul Drinkhall became the youngest player since Chester Barnes to win the English Senior Men's title in Sheffield in March 2007 when he overcame the much more experienced former champion Alex Perry from Devon in the 4 - 1 contest.
7.
Paul Drinkhall moved to Italy in September 2011, joining the Sterilgarda club with the intention of raising his performances in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
8.
In 2012 Paul Drinkhall joined Werder Bremen's table tennis team and returned to the table tennis Bundesliga after previous spells with Goennern, TTC Indeland Julich and SV Pluderhausen.
9.
Paul Drinkhall was part of the Werder Bremen team that won the Bundesliga that season.
10.
Paul Drinkhall married Joanna Parker, a professional table tennis player and a multiple English champion, in August 2013.
11.
Paul Drinkhall became only the second English player to win a tournament on the ITTF World Tour Open circuit when he won the Spanish Open in April 2014.
12.
Paul Drinkhall won the Belgian League that same season with Nodo.
13.
Paul Drinkhall represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning a silver medal in the team competition as Singapore took gold in a repeat of the 2010 result.
14.
Paul and Joanna Drinkhall subsequently won a gold in the mixed doubles competition, defeating fellow English pairing Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho in the final.
15.
In November 2014, Paul Drinkhall reached the final of the Russian Open, beating several top-25 players along the way, including top seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov and third seed Marcos Freitas.
16.
Paul Drinkhall's performances lifted him to a new career high of No 33 in the ITTF world rankings.
17.
At the inaugural European Games in Baku in June 2015, Paul Drinkhall was seeded 16 and reached the semi-finals, losing to top seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
18.
Paul Drinkhall was then beaten in the bronze medal play-off by Lei Kou.
19.
In November 2015, Paul Drinkhall won the men's singles at the Aquece Rio International Tournament - the test event for the Rio Olympics.
20.
In March 2016, Paul Drinkhall was part of the England team, alongside Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker, which won bronze medals at the World Team Championships in Malaysia, England's first medal at that level since 1983 and the first time a newly promoted team had earned a podium place at the event.
21.
Paul Drinkhall represented Team GB in singles and team event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, becoming only the third Brit in history to reach the last 16 stage of the singles.
22.
In February 2018, Paul Drinkhall was part of the England squad alongside Liam Pitchford, Sam Walker, David McBeath and Tom Jarvis which won bronze medals by reaching the semi-finals of the ITTF Team World Cup in front of a home crowd at the Copper Box Arena in London.
23.
At the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018, Paul Drinkhall won the gold medal in the men's doubles alongside Liam Pitchford and was part of the England squad which won men's team bronze, alongside Pitchford, Sam Walker and David McBeath.
24.
In 2019, Paul Drinkhall became the first English player to win two ITTF World Tour events when he won the Serbia Open.