Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra win Asian Olympic Qualification mixed doubles final to qualify for Tokyo 2020

Doha: Star Indian pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra sealed the Olympics berth in mixed doubles table tennis after beating world No 8 Korean Sang-Su Lee and Jihee Jneon 4-2 in the final of Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament on Saturday. The 2018 Asian Games bronze medallists staged a remarkable comeback after being two sets down to outwit the Korean pair 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8 in a thrilling final. Sharath and Manika had already secured their singles berth on Thursday and will now also compete as a doubles pair at the delayed Tokyo Games, to be held from 23 July to 8 August this year. On Friday, Sharath and Manika had defeated Singapore’s Koen Pang Yew En and Lin Ye 4-2 in the semi-finals to get to touching distance of making it to the showpiece. On Thursday, all the four Indian paddlers Sharath, Manika, Gnanasekaran Sathiyan and Sutirtha Mukherjee had earned themselves singles qualification berths at the Tokyo Games. While Sathiyan and Sutirtha emerged winners in their respective categories of the South Asian Group, Sharath and Manika sealed Tokyo berths by virtue of being the highest-ranked second-placed players.