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Achanta Sharath Kamal’s run in the WTT Star Contender came to an end as the Indian lost to Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the men’s singles Round of 16 clash on Wednesday. The World No. 2 German won 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6) at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall in Doha.
With this loss, India’s campaign in the competition comes to an end. In the WTT Contender too, which concluded last week, Kamal was the best-placed Indian, losing out in the Round of 16. Manika Batra and G Sathiyan have already exited the tournament on March 9, losing their respective WTT Star Contender Round of 32 matches.
After having stunned World No.16 Patrick Franziska in the previous round, Kamal was in attack mode right from the start. But Ovtcharov, winner of the WTT Contender last week, was in no mood to surrender. The sixth-seed relied heavily on his backspin serves causing problems for the Indian before winning the game 11-9.
The second game was no different as four-time Olympic medallist Ovtcharov consistently played cross-court shots to disturb Kamal’s momentum. The 38-year-old Indian saved two match points but eventually conceded the game 8-11.
Ovtcharov was more confident in the third game and quickly raced to a 4-0 lead. Kamal frustrated his opponent with a few backhand attacks, forcing the German to concede a few errors. But it was the German star who cruised into the WTT Star Contender quarterfinals.
What’s next for Indian paddlers after WTT Star Contender?
The likes of Kamal, Batra, Sathiyan and Sutirtha Mukherjee will stay in Doha for a few more days as they are participating in the World Singles Qualification and Asian Olympic Qualification tournaments. Both these events will serve as a platform to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Kamal will also partner Batra in the mixed doubles of the Asian Qualifiers. Kamal, Batra and Sathiyan are favorites to secure an Olympic berth in Tokyo. It will be a tough task for India coach Soumyadeep Roy to address the mistakes in the WTT Star Contender tournament and rectify them before the qualifiers.
