Southampton’s David McBeath has won his first senior national table tennis title.
McBeath teamed up with England colleague Paul Drinkhall to win the men’s doubles at the PG Mutual National Championships at the Copper Box Arena.
They defeated the other two members of England’s squad for next month’s Commonwealth Games, Liam Pitchford & Sam Walker 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1) in the final.
McBeath usually plays alongside Walker, but the combinations were changed to help prepare for the Commonwealths team event.
McBeath also reached the mixed doubles final, where he and Kelly Sibley saw opponents Pitchford & Tin-Tin Ho save four match points on their way to a 3-2 (11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 12-10) victory.
To complete a successful tournament, McBeath won a bronze in the men’s singles, knocking out defending champion Drinkhall 4-1 (11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7) in the quarter-finals but losing 4-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, 11-8) to Walker in the last four. Pitchford beat Walker in the final.
McBeath, from Rownhams, said: “Obviously I’m really happy to get my first senior Nationals title. I had match points earlier to try to win the mixed doubles, but Liam and Tin-Tin played really well.
“Paul was a big help in the men’s.
“It was his tenth men’s doubles title so it shows he’s got a lot of experience of winning at the nationals.
“It’s not just about this tournament, we’ve got the Commonwealths coming up and it’s about trying out different pairs to see what’s best for the team.”
The England squad have now travelled to Qatar for a World Tour event this week – and Drinkhall and McBeath have been drawn in the same men’s singles qualifying group.
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