Watch: Sharath Kamal wins his 2nd ITTF title in 10 years. Muscat:Ace Indian paddler Sharath Kamal clinched the 2020 ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open men's singles title here on Sunday.
Sharath was down by a game but made a comeback to beat top seeded Marcos Freitas of Portugal 6-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 3-11, 17-15 in the final.
With Oman Open title, the 37-year-old veteran also ended his decade-long wait for a title in an ITTF event. Sharath last won an ITTF title way back in 2010 when he won Egypt Open. Since then he made two semifinal appearances (Morocco Open in 2011 and India Open in 2017) but failed to get a hold of the coveted trophy.
Sharath Kamal's last ITTF title came in 2010. Earlier in the semifinal, Sharath pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory against Russia's Kirill Skachkov. The fourth-seeded Indian came back after being two games down to register a 11-13, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7 win in a thrilling seven-set clash that lasted an hour and eight minutes.
Meanwhile, Freitas advanced to the final with a 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-3 win over Harmeet Desai. The Indian paddler Desai demonstrated a gritty performance and even dominated the match at the initial stage. However, World No. 26 Freitas roared back from 3-1 down to win the next three successive games to make his way into the final.
With a fine performance in Muscat, Sharath proved that he still has plenty to give to the game. Heralded as an all-time great in his home country Sharath has once again earned his time in the spotlight, landing India its first ITTF Challenge Series men’s singles gold since 2017!
