New Delhi, April 20: Achanta Sharath Kamal registered a
comfortable win over Vietnam’s Quyinh Tran Tuan of Vietnam 11-1, 11-9, 11-5,
11-4 in the third round and is just a couple of matches away from sealing his
London berth at the ongoing Asian Olympic Qualification Table Tennis Tournament
at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong this afternoon.
The top Indian pro is taking on North Korea ’s Jang Song Man who
earlier accounted for A. Amal Raj 4-2 in draw B. In the same draw Soumyajit
Ghosh also lost to Kim Song Nam
of North Korea
1-4, but the two Indians can still make the Olympics grade provided they win
their next round matches.
Sharath, who is one match away from what could be a dream
effort, to finish among the top four paddlers at the Qualifiers has the ability
to put it across his North Korean rival, who is a defensive player.
However, Sharath enhanced his qualification chance this
afternoon. As a draw A loser, Sharath defeated Iran’s top player Nima Alamian
4-2 (11-7, 3-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 to progress into draw B. Laater when he
triumphed over the Vietnamese in a one-sided match, his approach was simple and
plain as he just went about attacking his opponent who brooked no challenge.
“Sharath brought his aggressive style to the fore and it
paid dividends,” said national coach Bhawani Mukherjee. “If he continues in the
same vein later tonight against Jang Song Man, he should book his London berth tomorrow,” he
added.
As for Amal Raj and Ghosh, Mukherjee said that all was not
lost for the two Indians. As draw B losers they still have chances tomorrow and
could well be the surprise package said Mukherjee. “The two have put up very
good fights against their top opponents and are well in course to surprise with
at least one more berth,” said Mukherjee.
Poulomi Ghatak faltered to deceive after a fine show last
evening and bowed out of the tournament while Ankita Das and K. Shamini kept
their Olympics dreams alive on Friday.
A TTFI Press release
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