Drinkhall and Pitchford both eased into the last 32 of the men's event at the National Sports Centre, with 11 qualifying places up for grabs prior to the final qualifier in Qatar in May.

Drinkhall will face Yaroslav Zhmudenko of Ukraine on Friday while Pitchford will face Spaniard Carlos Machado.

In the women's event, Joanna Parker will face Renata Strbikova of the Czech Republic.

Great Britain, as hosts of this year's Games, are guaranteed three qualifying places in the each of the men's and women's events. However, many players are seeking to qualify automatically ahead of the GB Table Tennis decision next month.