Great Britain's Paul Drinkhall saved nine match points but was unable to see off Vladimir Samsonov in the last 16 of the men's singles at the Olympic Games.

The Middlesbrough-based hitter had impressed during his opening performances in Rio de Janeiro but he was second best to the Belarusian during the opening three games.

However, the 26-year-old began to throw everything at his opponent, saving numerous match points before extending the contest into a sixth set.

Drinkhall continued to increase the pressure on Samsonov but he was unable to take the match into a decider as Samsonov eventually won by a 11-9 11-6 11-8 15-17 7-11 11-8 scoreline.