Duo move closer to Games places

Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford have moved closer to booking their places at London 2012 after coming through the preliminary stages of the penultimate European qualifier in Luxembourg.

Drinkhall and Pitchford both eased into the last 32 of the men's event at the National Sports Centre, with 11 qualifying places up for grabs prior to the final qualifier in Qatar in May.

Drinkhall will face Yaroslav Zhmudenko of Ukraine on Friday while Pitchford will face Carlos Machado of Spain.

In the women's event, Joanna Parker will face Renata Strbikova of the Czech Republic.

Great Britain, as hosts, are guaranteed three qualifying places in the each of the men's and women's Olympic events. However many players are seeking to qualify automatically ahead of the GB Table Tennis decision in May.