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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