PAUL DRINKHALL won a last-match decider as England beat Poland 3-2 to reach the last eight of the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur.

The Loftus Olympian, who was a Commonwealth Games gold medallist at Glasgow in 2014, made a brilliant start as he beat Zengyi Wang in four games despite being 32 places below his opponent in the world rankings.

Drinkhall, who is currently ranked number 72 in the world, was part of an England side who are playing at this level for the first time since 1997, and his early success was matched by Liam Pitchford, who staved off a comeback by world number 82 Jakub Dyjas to win in five.

Sam Walker performed creditably against Daniel Gorak, brushing aside a gap of almost 100 ranking places to claw back a two-game deficit to level at 2-2, only to lose the decisive final game.

Wang overcame Pitchford 3-1 to take the tie into a decider, but Drinkhall held his nerve to steer England through to the last eight. The North-Easterner lost the opening game to Dyjas, but levelled in style before taking the next two games on deuce.

“We started badly, two defeats (against Sweden and France), but we are all playing better and better,” said Drinkhall. “We have a great spirit in the team. Now we are through to the quarter-finals and we all really believe we can beat them.

“First match today against Wang Zengyi was very difficult - pen-holder fast attacks, it is not a style you meet these days. Against Jakub I felt in control. I was ahead in the first game and lost, in the fourth I was down 4-9 and won - I came through.”

England face France in their first quarter-final since 1983 tomorrow morning, and will be hoping to avenge a 3-0 defeat to the same opponents at the group stage.