Sam Walker (table tennis)

Last updated

Sam Walker
Sam Walker WTTC2016 7.jpeg
Walker in 2016
Personal information
Full nameSamuel Jake Walker
Residence Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Born (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 29)
Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England [1]
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Weight72 kg (159 lb) [1]
Highest ranking80 (January 2018) [2]
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2016 Kuala Lumpur Team
World Cup
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 London Team
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Glasgow Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Gold Coast Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Men's team

Samuel Jake Walker (born 7 May 1995) is a British table tennis player. [1] [3]

Contents

Career

Walker competed for England in the men's team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games [4] where he won a silver medal. [5]

In March 2016, Walker was part of the England team, alongside Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall, 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. [6]

In June 2016, Walker was called up to the Team GB table tennis squad for the Rio Olympic Games. [7] He featured in the team competition, sealing a 3–2 victory over France in the first round [8] before GB were knocked out by China in the quarter-finals. [9]

In February 2018, Walker was part of the England squad alongside Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford, 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. [10]

At the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018, Walker was part of the England squad which won men's team bronze, alongside Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and David McBeath. [11] and was fourth in the men's singles, having been defeated in the bronze medal match. [12]

In 2021, Walker became the first English player to win a doubles title on the international circuit since the advent of the ITTF World Tour in 1996, when he and Sweden's Truls Moregard won the men's doubles at the Czech Open. [13]

At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Walker won team bronze alongside Liam Pitchford, Paul Drinkhall and Tom Jarvis. [14] In 2024, he won a 2nd men's doubles and 6th mixed doubles title at the English National Table Tennis Championships, held at the David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham. [15]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sam Walker". glasgow2014.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. "ITTF World Ranking". ittf.com. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  3. "WALKER Samuel Jake". european-games.org. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  4. "Worksop's Sam Walker named in Team England table tennis squad for Glasgow". nottinghampost.com. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014.
  5. "Walker is happy with the silver medal but wants gold in 2018". worksopguardian.co.uk. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014.
  6. "Sensation, Promoted England Stuns France to Reach Semi-Final". ittf.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  7. "Sam Walker added to table tennis squad for Rio 2016". teamgb.com. 2 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023.
  8. "GB fight back to advance in team event". BBC Sport. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021.
  9. "China knock out GB men's team in quarters". BBC Sport. 14 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021.
  10. "England reaches semi-final Copper Box erupts". ittf.com. 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021.
  11. "England secures bronze, Paul Drinkhall sets example". ittf.com. 9 April 2018.
  12. "Silver for Liam and Tin-Tin; Sam misses out". Table Tennis England. 15 April 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018.
  13. "Historic moment for Walker after doubles victory". Table Tennis England. 25 August 2021.
  14. "England bag a bronze with flawless display". Table Tennis England. 2 August 2022.
  15. "Seven's heaven for Drinkhall and it's six of the best for Ho". Table Tennis England. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.