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Achanta Sharath Kamal bows out as Indian challenge ends at table tennis Worlds
Achanta Sharath Kamal went down 2-4 to Lin Gaoyuan of China in the Round of 32 at the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
India’s Achanta Sharath Kamal, after his flourish in the opening two rounds, saw his run come to a halt by Chinese Gaoyuan Lin in the men’s singles Round of 32 match of the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf.
The top Indian paddler, ranked 54th in the world, put up a decent fight and a stiff challenge against the higher ranked Chinese (world No 40) before going down 2-4 late on Friday night.
Sharath, the 43rd seed, started well against Gaoyuan and went on to win the first game on his second game point. But the 33rd seed Gaoyuan finally came good and won the next two games to jump to a 2-1 lead.
Sharath came up with a spirited display and managed to draw level by winning the fourth game and stay in the fight.
However, the superior Gaoyuan steadied his game and played more consistently to take the match away from the Indian by winning the subsequent two games to wrap up the issue 13-11, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11 and 4-11.
“When I made it 2-all, I thought I had a chance. But some mistakes on my part proved costly. Lin didn’t let me play my game in the latter part, he was too good,” said the Indian.
Sharath’s exit marked the end of the Indian challenge in the World Championship.
