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Sharath, Madhurika dominate
Achanta Sharath Kamal and Madhurika Patkar on Saturday completed hattrick of titles in table tennis by clinching gold in men's and women's singles respectively on the concluding day of the 34th National Games here.
Achanta Sharath Kamal and Madhurika Patkar on Saturday completed hattrick of titles in table tennis by clinching gold in men's and women's singles respectively on the concluding day of the 34th National Games here.
Sharath Kamal clinched the men's singles title without much fuss, while Madhurika Patkar stunned national champion Shamini Kumaresan for the women's singles gold.
Having won the team gold for Tamil Nadu and mixed doubles title with Shamini, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sharath did not have to break sweat as he thrash Bengal's Anirban Nandi 4-0 in a 16-minute contest.
Maharashtra girl Madhurika, on the other hand, faced stiff resistance from the Tamil Nadu's Shamini before wrapping up the tie 4-3 in the first final of the day.
Madhurika had earlier won the doubles gold partnering with Pooja Sahasrabudhe and the team title.
Playing in front of an empty Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo Indoor Stadium in Mega Sports Complex, Sharath Kamal did not give any chance to Nandi to settle down.
Madhurika, however, had a tough contest as Shamini, who won the senior Nationals in Kolkata recently, did not give up easily stretching the women's final to a marathon seven-setter.
Tamil Nadu topped the table tennis medals tally with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Maharashtra had three gold medals but they had to be content with second position as they won one silver and one bronze.
Bengal had to be content with one gold, three silver and eight bronze medals to finish at third place.
