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India’s veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal has made a massive lead in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings. Following his outstanding performance at the Singapore Smash, Sharath Kamal saw himself jumping 54 spots.
Sharath Kamal now holds the 34th spot in the ITTF rankings. His massive jump in the rankings came on the back of a spirited performance at the Singapore Smash, where he reached the quarter-finals.
Kamal started by playing in the qualifiers but consistent performances helped him advance to the quarter-finals. He defeated the likes of World Nos. 13 Darko Jorgic and 22 Omar Assar on his way to the quarters.
His dream run eventually ended with a 9-11, 2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 loss against the-then world number six Felix Lebrun. The latter dominated the clash as he crushed him 4-1.
Looked as the next big thing in the sport of table tennis, Lebrun piled pressure on the Indian paddler right from the start. Sharad showed some fight in the first game but was eventually won by Felix.
The French superstar went on to win the next two games to take a 3-0 lead. There was some sort of hope in finding Sharath’s way when he won the fourth game but couldn’t continue the momentum.
Nevertheless, Kamal would take a lot of confidence from his performance in the tournament as he heads to the upcoming events to secure a place for the Paris Olympics.
Manika Batra slips down two places; Sreeja Akula reaches 47th spot
Meanwhile, India’s woman paddler Manika Batra descended two spots to take the 38th spot in women’s singles but continues to be India’s highest-ranked woman player in the rankings.
Sreeja Akula, 25, gained momentum as she climbed three places to take the 47th position in the rankings. Last month, she produced one of the greatest upsets, beating world number two Wang Yidi in the World Team Table Tennis championships in Busan.
Hailing from Hyderabad, Sreeja Akula is making India proud by dishing out phenomenal performances on the biggest stage. The future of women’s table tennis looks bright as Yashaswini Ghorpade is also sitting at the 100th spot in the latest women’s rankings.
