Indian men’s doubles duo of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shankar Shetty advanced to the round of 16 in men’s doubles table tennis competition of the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.
Sharath and Sathiyan entered the round of 16 after thrashing Kiribati duo Tauramoa Miita and Nooa Takooa 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-6) while Harmeet and Sanil beat Guyana’s Shemar Britton and Christopher Franklin 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7).
Sharath and Sathiyan had no problems in dealing with the inexperienced Kiribati pair, comfortably clinching the round of 32 tie.
Sharath and Sathiyan will next take on Sri Lanka’s Buwaneka Jayasingha Mudiyanselage and Imesh Ranasingha on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals.
The other men’s doubles pair of Harmeet and Sanil too had an easy outing against the Guyana combo, who failed to put up a challenge in any of the three games.
In the round of 16, Harmeet and Sanil will be up against Northern Ireland’s Paul McCreery and Ashley Robinson at the Oxenford Studios on Thursday.