Joanna Drinkhall (née Parker, born 10 June 1987) is a British
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
player.
Career
She grew up in
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...
. She trained at the national academy in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, from 1999 to 2003. Then she played for a Berlin club. She is currently playing in France for TT Saint Quentin.
Joanna has won national singles titles at U12, Cadet, Junior, U21 and Senior levels, girls’ doubles titles at U12, Cadet and Junior and both women's and mixed doubles at Senior level.
She won a bronze medal at the 2009
Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships The Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships was born at a meeting of Commonwealth delegates in Munich at the 1969 World Championships. Prior to inclusion in the Commonwealth Games proper in 2002, 15 Commonwealth Championships have taken place since ...
in the women's doubles.
She won a
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
in the mixed doubles with Paul Drinkhall. This was the first Commonwealth table tennis medal won by an English woman.
She competed for Great Britain at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. In
Women's singles, in round 1, she defeated
Caroline Kumahara
Luca Aiko Kumahara (formerly Caroline Aiko Kumahara, born July 27, 1995, in São Paulo, São Paulo) is a table tennis player from Brazil. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics
The , off ...
, but in the second round, she lost to
Kristin Silbereisen
Kristin Silbereisen (born March 14, 1985) is a German table tennis player. She currently plays for TTC Berlin Eastside.
Career
Silbereisen began playing table tennis when she was seven years old and started competing for DJK Ochtendung. As a ...
. In
Women's team, the team lost to Korea in their first match.
In June 2014, she was ranked No 1 in England and 109th in the world.
Joanna and Paul Drinkhall won gold in the mixed doubles competition at the
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, defeating fellow English pairing
Liam Pitchford
Liam Benjamin Pitchford (born 12 July 1993) is a British table tennis player. He is sponsored by Victas.
Career
Pitchford began playing table tennis when he was eight years old. He won the British Home Countries Championship in 2009, and two Co ...
and
Tin-Tin Ho
Tin-Tin Ho (born 3 September 1998) is an English table tennis player, born and raised in London. She has won multiple national titles, as well as two Commonwealth silver medals, and appeared at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Career 2014 Commonwealth ...
in the final.
Personal life
Parker married
Paul Drinkhall
Paul Andrew Drinkhall (born 16 January 1990) is a British table tennis player. He won the English Championship in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
Career
Drinkhall was born in Middlesbrough. His career in table tennis started in 1997 whe ...
, a British table tennis player in August 2013.
See also
*
References
External links
Official websiteTeam GB
English female table tennis players
Table tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic table tennis players for Great Britain
1987 births
Living people
Table tennis players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Table tennis players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games medallists in table tennis
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
Sportspeople from Chertsey
Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
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