Table tennis: White Russian too strong for Lomas

Lisa Lomas, who helped England to three major medals in the last three months, suffered a shattering defeat in the third round of the women's singles at the European Championships when she lost to Tatiana Kostromina, of Belarus, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday, writes James Leigh. Lomas, who won the silver medal two years ago in Stuttgart, was rarely in it after the second game, losing 21-19, 21-9, 21-16. Desmond Douglas, 38, came within two points of a straight games win over the Chinese-born Austrian, Ding Yi, before losing 21-23, 15-21, 21-19, 21-16, 21-14.