Saturday, March 14, 2015

Sharath beats nemesis Gao to retain sixth spot; Chinese showdown in men’s singles final

Jaipur, March 14, 2015: Achanta Sharath Kamal had to just settle for an honourable sixth spot after he went down to South Korean Kim Minseok 3-4 in a thriller at the GAC Group 28th Asian Cup Table Tennis 2015 at the SMS Indoor Stadium here on Saturday. In the last edition too, Sharath had lost to the Korean to be at the sixth position at Wuhan.

The 49th-ranked Sharath may have lost the 5-6 playoff 11-8, 2-11, 17-15, 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, but yet again proved that his pre-eminence in India as well as on the world stage was retained. With an impressive result here, he has boosted his qualifying chances for the World Cup to be held later in the year.

“It was a little disappointing, but he won their crucial points that mattered,” said Sharath, who at last found a way earlier in the day to overcome his nemesis and World No.15 Gao Ning, disposing him of 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 and assured himself of retaining the sixth position that he had scured at Wuhan two years ago in the previous edition.

“With today’s triumph against Gao, I have taken the monkey off my back,” said Sharath. This, in a way, was soothing and enabled the Indian ace to put his quarterfinal defeat in the morning to World No.5 Jun Mizutani behind.

Sharath was more than happy to accomplish the feat after “countless” losses to the Singaporean, even as he admitted that Ning was far from his best today. “I have lost the count of times he had beaten me. But I finally found a way past him. I was so fed up with this losing streak that I had once asked my German coach “when will I get to beat Gao?”

He told me to keep it in reserve for a special day. Overall, I think I played really well and, to be honest, he looked a bit underprepared,” said 49th-ranked Sharath.
What made the difference to the two-time CWG gold winner was the crucialfourth game. He led 3-1 but his opponent was up to the task and went ahead at 10-8. That was when Sharath fought back well to take four straight points.

‘He’s just too good’
Earlier in the day, the Indian ace was denied a semi-final spot by Japan’s Jun Mizutani who was simply too fast as he gave Sharath Kamal minimal time to exert his powerful forehand top spin. There was, however, a ray of hope for Sharath who, after leading 6-2, established a 10-8 lead but he was unable to convert the advantage. Mizutani levelled and avoided a potential crisis. Despite the Indian saving two game points, Mizutani’s confidence blossomed as he won with an impressive 11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6 score.

By Sharath’s own admission, he could not have played any better than he did against his superior Japanese opponent who kept attacking from both flanks and Sharath had no convincing answers. The Japanese mixed it up well with a variety of serves and hammered winners, both cross court and down the line, with pinpoint precision. However, Sharath did get his only chance in the second game in which he led 6-1 and then 10-8. But a superlative performance by the 25-year-old not only brought the scores level but eventually the game on his second game point as he raced to 11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6 win.

“I don’t think I played badly. I would say he was just too good. He is certainly in a different league,” said Sharath, who had beaten World No.8 and World No.16 to reach the quarterfinals yesterday. World No.2 Xu Xin was stretched by Sharath’s conqueor Mizutani before the Chinese prevailed 11-7 11-8 9-11 11-6 7-11 11-7. Xin takes on compatriot Fan Zhendong in the final tomorrow. The 18-year-old sensation sailed past Tang Peng of Hong Kong 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9. In the women’s battle, Liu Shiwen of China will face Feng Tianwei of Singapore.

The Results:
Men singles: Semi-finals: Xu Xin (Chn) bt Jun Mizutani (Jpn) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5; Fan Zhengdong (Chn) bt Tang Peng (Hkg) 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9; Quarterfinals: Xin bt Gao Ning (Sin) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4; Mizutani bt Sharath Kamal 11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6; Tang bt Koki Nawa (Jpn) 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10; Fan bt Kim Minseok (Kor) 11-3, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6.  
Women singles: Semifinals: Liu Shiwen (Chn) bt Zhu Yuling (Chn) 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6; Feng Tianwei (Sin) bt Ai Fukuhara (Jpn) 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-13, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7; Quarterfinals: Liu bt Cheng I-Ching (Tpe) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5; Zhu bt Kasumi Shikawa (Jpn) 11-4, 11-6, 11-3, 12-10; Fukuhara bt Seo Hyowon (Kor) 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3, 17-19, 11-5; Feng bt Doo Hoi Kem (Hkg) 7-11, 11-1, 11-7, 4-11, 11-5, 11-4.

A TTFI Press release


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