Keeping the Indian hopes alive, Sharath Kamal Achanta churned out another sterling performance to register an authoritative 4-0 win against Ukraine’s Lei Kou in men’s singles second round match of the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships, according to information received from Dusseldorf, here, on Thursday.
Sharath Kamal
The 54th ranked Sharath did not have to exert too much and was totally at ease against the 24th ranked Ukrainian and went on to complete a 11-3, 11-9, 14-12, 11-3 victory to book a place in the round of 32.
Sharath comfortably got through his first round with a convincing 4-1 win against Jesus Cantero of Spain on Wednesday. Hitting the right notes, Sharath comfortably brushed aside the challenge from the Spaniard ranked 132 by an 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8 verdict.
However, Sharath’s compatriot Soumyajit Ghosh (rank 83) squandered a 2-0 advantage against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg (rank 97) as he lost the next four games and suffered a 2-4 (8-11,8-11,11-5,11-9,14-12,12-10) defeat.
The two other Indians in the fray, Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnansekaran, also made their exit in the first round itself. Desai (rank 95) found it a bit too tough against Brazilian Hugo Calderano (rank 25) and lost 1-4 (8-11, 8-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11). Sathiyan (rank 125) fell to Hunor Szocs (rank 82) 1-4 ( 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11).
Meanwhile, Manika Batra’s crashed out in the second round going down fighting to Korea’s Kyungah Kim 1-4 (11-3, 5-11, 6-11, 6-11, 8-11).
However, Manika combined nicely with Mouma Das to advance to the quarter-final round of the women’s doubles event. The Indian duo did not drop a single point as they swept past their mixed doubles combination of Jie Li (NED) and Qian Li (POL) winning at 11-0, 11-0, 11-0, 11-0 in a round of 16 match.
Earlier, the Indian women overcame a spirited fight from the Russian pairing of Yana Noskova and M. Tailakova 4-3 (14-16,10-12,11-7,11-8,4-11,11-5,11-9).
Results – Women’s singles (2nd round): Manika Batra (IND) lost to Kyungah Kim (KOR) 1-4 (11-3,5-11,6-11,6-11,8-11).
Men’s singles (2nd round): Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND)
Men’s singles (1st round): Soumyajit Ghosh (IND) lost to Anton Kallberg (SWE) 2-4 (8-11, 8-11,11-5,11-9,14-12,12-10); Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND) beat Jesus Cantero (ESP) 4-1 (11-7,11-9,6-11,11-8,11-8); Harmeet Desai (IND) lost to Hugo Calderano (BRA) 1-4 (8-11, 8-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11); Sathiyan Gnansekaran (IND) lost to Hunor Szocs (ROU) 1-4 ( 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11).
Women’s doubles (round 16): Manika Batra/Mouma Das (IND) beat Jie Li (NED)/Qian Li (POL) 11-0, 11-0, 11-0, 11-0.
Women’s doubles (round 32): Manika Batra/Mouma Das (IND) beat Yana Noskova/M. Tailakova (RUS) 4-3 (14-16,10-12,11-7,11-8,4-11,11-5,11-9).