ANDREW Ruston claimed bronze to equal his best ever performance at the World Championship of Ping Pong.

The former Walkden High School pupil, who started his table tennis career playing for Farnworth Social Circle in the Bolton League, overcame Slovakian fourth seed Lubomir Pisteg to make the last four.

But he was eventually toppled in the semi-finals by 2015 champion Andrew Baggaley, who went on to retain his title in front of the Sky TV cameras at a packed Alexandra Palace in London.

"Pisteg went into the tournament ranked third in the world, so it was a fantastic result for me," said Rushton, who won a titanic three-set battle in the quarter-finals 15-14, 9-15, 15-13.

"My aim was to win the tournament, or to go one better than I had done previously and get to the final.

"But I wasn't too disappointed to lose to Baggaley as at least I went out to the eventual winner.

"He played really well, and was better than me on the night.

"I won't give up on my dream of winning the tournament, though. If anything, this year's event has just made me more determined than ever."

The 32-year-old, who grew up in Walkden but now lives in Stockport, won the world team title in December.

Rushton went one better than last year at the individual event, when he was knocked out in the quarter-finals, and matched his best ever finish at in 2014.

After winning his two matches in the group stages, the former Commonwealth Games silver medalist in the traditional form of table tennis dispatched Czech Republic's Petr Silhan 2-0 in the last 32 and beat Zbigniew Leszczynski, of Poland, by the same scoreline in the last 16.

After producing his best table tennis to beat Pisteg, Rushton failed to take a set off Baggaley in the semis, losing 15-5, 15-13, 15-7.

"The striking thing for me was the crowd – it was massive this year with a packed house on all three nights," added Rushton, who has backed promoter Barry Hearn to turn hard bat table tennis into the new darts.

"There is talk of a Premier League, when we will roll out the sport around the world.

"I know Barry wants to do for table tennis what he did for snooker and darts, and if the atmosphere created at the Ally Pally is anything to go by, it has certainly captured the imagination."

The World Championship of Ping Pong is a hard bat tournament, set up four years ago in a bid to revitalise the sport and repackage it for the masses.

Competitors use traditional sandpaper rackets, without the rubbers used on modern rackets, which eliminates the heavy spin modern table tennis players can generate.

The outcome is fast and furious, with the emphasis on speed, skill and shot-making.