Doha, Mar 3 (UNI) The ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal began the 2021 season with an impressive victory as he defeated Czech Republic’s Pavel Sirucek 17-15, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 in the men singles opening round at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender, here on Tuesday.
However, the other Indian Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, who also secured a direct entry into the main draw alongside 2006 Commonwealth Games champion Sharath, suffered 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 loss at the hands of star African paddler and World No 20 Aruna Quadri in the Round-of-32.
The World No 32 Sharath, who was up against an international opponent for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, struggled initially when he was seen trailing by five points in the first game before recovering well with a strong counter attacking display to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. Despite losing the next game, nine-time national champion kept firing attacking shots to bag the third set comfortably.