New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold medalist Achanta Sharath Kamal advanced to the round of 16 of Singapore Smash for the first time after a thumping victory over World No. 13 Darko Jorgic with a scoreline of 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9), on Wednesday.
It took Darko a while to get off his block as he won the first game and looked sharper, but after that it was all Sharath Kamal as he blew past Darko, who could not withstand the barrage of smashes and drops that came his way. The two paddlers engaged in several amazing rallies during the game, and Sharath often maintained his cool to win the point.
World No. 88 Sharath began his Singapore tour by beating Romania’s Andre Istrate, Yuta Tanaka of Japan, and Slovenia’s Deni Kozul from the qualifying round to book his place in the main draw. In the round of 64, Sharath then triumphed 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6) over Nicolas Burgos, the World No. 31 from Chile. The ten-time national champion from India will compete with either Lee Sang Su of Korea or Omas Assar of Egypt for a spot in the quarterfinals.
In the women’s doubles round of 16, Romanian-Spanish players Adina Diaconu and Maria Xiao defeated bronze medalists from the Asian Games, Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee, 1-3 (4-11, 14-12, 3-11, 9-11). The Indian pair had won the opening round 3-2 (11-8, 5-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9) against Miu Hirano and Miwa Harimoto of Japan. The Mukherjee sisters, Sutirtha and Ayhika booked a place in the round of 16 defeating the Japanese pair Miu Hirano and Miwa Harimoto in a closely fought match that ended 3-2 (11-8, 5-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9) in favour of the Indians.
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