Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal led the way with a dominating performance as Chennai Lions thrashed Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 12-3 to record the biggest win in the event's history and reach the threshold of the semifinals of the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.
Sharath Kamal to be the flag bearer
The India duo of Sharath and Sreeja, with a solid combination of experience and youth, beat Javen Choong and Karen Lyne of Malaysia 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 to win the elusive gold medal.
The Indian men's team fielded its top-ranked players Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai for the first doubles match against Ramhimlian Bawm and Mohutasin Ahmed Ridoy at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.
Sharath Kamal said that the 4-11, 4-11 scores in the last two games in the match against Ma Long did not suggest the closeness of the contest
Errors crept into Kamal's play in the fourth and fifth games as he tried some high-risk shots that did not come off properly
The Indian, playing in his fourth Olympics, runs into reigning Olympic and world champion Ma Long of China, the top seed, in the third round
Riding on the title winning performance at the Oman Open last month, Sharath has taken a leap of seven spots to claim the 31st position in the ITTF rankings
Sharath Kamal lauded the efforts of Delhi Police on the frontline to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and urged people to stay and cooperate with the officials.
Sharath Kamal has decided to self-quarantine himself at home though the screening at the Chennai Airport showed his body temperature was normal.
