WTT Contender Doha: Achanta Sharath Kamal through to second round; G Sathiyan eliminated

Doha: Ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal advanced to the second round of the World Table Tennis Contender series with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Czech Republic’s Pavel Sirucek on Wednesday. Sharath toiled hard before defeating Sirucek 17-15, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 in the first round. However, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who alongside Sharath secured a direct entry into the main draw, made a first-round exit after going down to World No 20 Aruna Quadri 7-11, 4-11, 8-11. 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, the nine-time national champion kept firing attacking shots to bag the third game comfortably. Sirucek, who was the chief architect during India’s loss at the team Olympic Qualifier last year, managed to come back in the fourth game and kept his challenge alive. However, Sharath, a seasoned campaigner, held his nerves in the deciding game and completed a remarkable 3-2 win. Sharath will now face a strong challenge from World No 7 Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarters on Thursday.