Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee seal Tokyo Olympics spots at Asian Qualifiers

Top Indian paddlers Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee booked their places for the singles events in the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. At the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, Sathiyan and Sutirtha qualified for the Games by winning their respective groups, while Kamal and Batra entered the Olympics as the highest-ranked second-placed players in their respective categories. The seasoned Sharath who had lost his first match to Sathiyan qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games after a dominant win over Pakistan’s Muhammad Rameez in Doha. The veteran Indian thrashed Rameez 11-4, 11-1, 11-5, 11-4 in little over 22 minutes in the second men’s singles round-robin match in the South Asia group. The win over Rameez ensured at least a second-place finish for Kamal and it was enough to secure a spot in the delayed Games, scheduled to begin in July. One quota is awarded to the highest-ranked second-placed player in the event. Sharath being the top-ranked player in the group, secured the berth under the Asian quota.

It will be Sharath’s fourth appearance at the Olympic Games. “It was a good match against Sathiyan but I made some errors and he capitalised on them to win the match. I was a bit nervous before playing against Rameez as I had never faced him before. “But after the first few games I was confident that my strategy was working and I executed it well to maintain control,” Sharath said. The 38-year-old Sharath said considering the tumultuous 2020, it’s a big relief. “A lot of things have happened since March 2020. I became the champion in Oman and was in good touch, was preparing to play the qualification match in Thailand in just two weeks and suddenly everything came to a standstill. “I have achieved the best rankings of my career and it’s a huge sigh of relief especially the way this year has been. Though this will be my fourth Olympics, it will be my best Olympic Games.” Sathiyan too qualified after beating Rameez in the final round-robin South Asian group game to finish at top of his group.

India’s second-highest-ranked female player Sutirtha Mukherjee then qualified for the Games after a 4-2 (7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 11-4) win against her top-ranked Indian compatriot Manika Batra. Despite her defeat against Sutirtha, Manika too qualified by the virtue of her ranking. Looking to secure double qualification, Sharath also cruised into the semi-finals in the mixed doubles with Batra after the pair defeated Mohammed Abdulwahhab and Maha Faramarzi of Qatar 11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 in the quarters. The star Indian pair, which received a bye in the first round, will now take on Koen Pang Yew En and Ye Lin of Singapore in the last-four match on Friday. With PTI imputs