Achanta Sharath Kamal outshone G Sathiyan to win 4-1 in the men’s singles final for his first title in six years in the National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships here yesterday
Visakhapatnam: Achanta Sharath Kamal outshone G Sathiyan to win 4-1 in the men’s singles final for his first title in six years in the National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Suthirtha Mukherjee beat Krittwika Sinha Roy 4-0 for the women’s singles crown at the Rajiv GandhiIndoor Stadium.
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But the evening belonged to Sharath. All shots in the book, both close to the table and away from it, were on display and the first three games took everyone’s breath, including that of his rival, away. Sathiyan, normally an attacking player, was rendered motionless.
So power-packed were Sharath’s shots, particularly the ones directed at his body, that they were applauded by a near-packed VPT Stadium.
“A big monkey is off my back. Yes, the last time I won a title was at the 2010 Nationals.
A big relief, indeed, and coming as it did at a time when I decided to move into India, the win will definitely motivate me,” said Sharath.
In their third meeting—they met each other in last year’s Senior Nationals at Hyderabad and again in the team events of the Petroleum Meet—Sharath was able to avenge his losses to Sathiyan.
Earlier, Sharath blanked out Harmeet Desai 4-0 but he faced the usual opening and end-game blues.
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