Paddler Sharath Kamal jumps 12 places to career-high 32 in world rankings

India’s top table tennis player Sharath Kamal has jumped 12 places to reach a career-high 32 in the latest ITTF rankings and joining him in the top-100 for the first time is young compatriot Soumyajit Ghosh, who has moved up to 95. Sharath’s steep rise in the world rankings comes at the back of an impressive sixth place finish at Asian Cup in Jaipur where he beat three top-20 players. [caption id=“attachment_2227376” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Sharath Kamal. AFP[/caption] More recently, he withdrew from his third round match at the World Championships in Suzhou, China, following a hip injury. 32-year-old Sharath said the climb in the rankings felt good but he is now figuring a way to recover from the injury. “The injury is bad. I might have to go for a surgery,” said Sharath, who had equalled his previous best ranking of 39 last year. Ghosh, on the other hand, has moved up nine places from No.105. He had reached the second round of the worlds in China. It is rare for two Indians to figure in the top-100 in a sport dominated by players from China, Japan, South Korea and Germany. PTI