Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-Manika Batra win silver, Sharath Kamal finishes with bronze in WTT Contender Doha 2022

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra ended up winning the silver medal in the mixed doubles category at the WTT Contender Doha 2022 table tennis tournament. Meanwhile, veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal had to contend with a bronze medal in the men's singles.

Gnanasekaran and Batra lost to the top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair of Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching 0-3 (4-11, 5-11, 3-11) in a largely one-sided final.

Sharath Kamal, on the other hand, failed to up the ante from an advantageous position in the sixth game. He went down fighting 3-4 (5-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11) in the semi-finals against Yuan Licen of China.

This was Sharath Kamal's first international medal in almost two years. Prior to WTT Contender Doha 2022, the veteran paddler had won a gold medal at the Oman Open in 2020.

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Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-Manika Batra pair find it tough

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra, who are ranked seventh in the world, found the going tough the fancied duo from Taipei from the start.

Their Indians' troubles only multiplied when they failed to comprehend their opponents' left-right combination that went about the task clinically.

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Read: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-Manika Batra achieve career-best ranking of World No. 7 in mixed doubles

But it was creditable for the duo to resist as much as they could before eventually surrendering to the Taipei paddlers.

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Sharath Kamal regrets missed opportunities

Sharath Kamal rued his missed chances and admitted that he should have closed the game out to his advantage early.

"I should have wrapped it up in the sixth game itself. I am glad I finished on the podium (bronze) and would love to carry the form from here to the next tournament," he said.

Sharath had rhythm and form on his side. Trailing 1-2, the higher-ranked Indian came back stronger to go 3-2 up against the Chinese.

In the sixth game, Sharath was up 9-7 but frittered away his chances and let Licen off the hook. The Chinese not only reduced the margin but took a game-point.

Sharath Kamal, however, managed to deuce but failed to hold his serve, allowing his opponent to level the score.

In the decider, the Indian once again led 6-4. But he could not maintain it and the Chinese, having gained confidence, kept the lead before completing the task without giving any opportunity to his rival.

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