Asian Games: Paddlers Kamal, Sathiyan crash out in men's singles

HANGZHOU: India's experienced Table Tennis duo Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran crashed out of the men's singles Round of 16 on Friday in the ongoing Asian Games.

Sharath Kamal went down fighting in a nail-biting clash against Chinese Taipei’s Chih-Yuan Chuang in a match that consisted of a total of seven games.

The Indian paddler fought back after conceding a two-game disadvantage and made the scoreline 3-3.

It all came down to the final game and both paddlers went neck to neck for the final game but Kamal fell short as he lost the final game by 11-8.

Chuang proceeded to the quarterfinal with a 4-3 victory over the experienced Indian paddler.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also lost in straight games to China’s Chiquin Wang in the men’s singles Round of 16 tie.

Wang ousted Sathiyan in each game and asserted his dominance in the tie with a score of 11-3, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.

Earlier in the day, ace Indian paddler Manika Batra moved to the quarterfinals of the women's table tennis competition.

She beat Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut by 4-2 (11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6) in her round of 16 match-up.

After the first four thrilling sets which made the scoreline level at 2-2, Batra beat Suthasini in the next two sets to secure the win.

She has become the first-ever Indian singles player to make it to the QFs of the Asian Games in table tennis. She will be playing Wang Yidi for a spot in the final four and an assured medal.