Sharath Kamal Achanta (Twitter)
The Indian bought the higher of Egyptian Assar 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 within the Round of 16 within the prestigious occasion in Singapore. The 41-12 months-outdated’s Olympic probabilities have been additionally handed a lift by the victory.
Veteran Indian desk tennis participant Sharath Kamal continued his big-killing run within the Singapore Smash by defeating world quantity 22 Omar Assar of Egypt to enter the quarterfinals on Thursday.
A day after he upset world quantity 13 Darko Jorgic of Slovenia, Sharath recorded a cushty 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 win over Assar within the spherical of 16 of the USD 1.5 million occasion occasion.
World quantity 88 Sharath, who reached the primary draw after profitable the qualifiers, had it straightforward in opposition to the Egyptian within the first two rounds, however Assar put up resistance within the third spherical. Sharath made a couple of errors halfway, and his opponent cashed in to deuce. However, the Indian paddler grabbed the chance to win the final two essential factors and advance to one other upset.
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In the quarterfinals, the ten-time nationwide champion will face Felix Lebrun of France for a spot within the medal rounds.
“I would say that it was all because of the way we had prepared for the World Championships in Korea (Busan). Secondly, the confidence we have gained after the teams qualified for the Paris Olympics,” Sharath stated.
Sharath had made early first-spherical exits within the opening two editions of the match.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go so far in the (Singapore) Smash event because it has not happened before. I had to go through the qualification rounds, and to do what I did was excellent. I am immensely happy about it, especially my fitness part and focus,” he added.
The trailblazing Indian participant had come from behind to shock Jorgic 8-11 11-6 11-8 11-9 within the spherical of 32.
In the primary spherical of the primary draw, the Chennai-based participant had blanked World No. 31 Chilean Nicolas Burgos 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6).
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Sharath’s Olympic probabilities swell
The stellar run will enhance Sharath’s likelihood of sealing a berth within the singles occasion of the Paris Olympics along with his rankings set to drastically enhance.
India can ship solely two entries within the singles occasion and Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will take the ultimate name contemplating the person rankings.
Currently, Harmeet Desai (64) and Manav Thakkar (83) are the highest two Indians within the males’s part. Sharath is probably going to overtake them when the rankings are up to date subsequent week.
The Indian males’s and ladies’s groups have already scripted historical past by qualifying for the Olympics for the primary time.
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
