Paris (France): India's veteran paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal took a shocking Round of 64 Exit from the table tennis competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics here on Sunday. He conceded a defeat against Kozul Deni of Slovenia in a match that went down the wire. The Slovenian won the match by 4-2 and wrapped the match in 49 minutes.
Sharath started well winning the first game but his opponent managed to script a comeback winning three games on a trot. The 42-year-old defeated his opponent in the Game 1 by 12-10. In the next game, Deni made a comeback with 11-9 win within a span of eight minutes. He wrapped the Game 3 by 11-6 and also went on to win the next game by 11-7.
It was an intense battle as both the players were putting in their best to excel. Sharath produced a glimmer of hope winning the Game 5 by 11-8. Sharath took a lead early in the Game 6 but faltered later and went down in a close contest that ended in 10-12. As a result, Sharath's campaign in the Paris Games comes to an end. Sharath, who was the flagbearer for the Indian contingent was playing his sixth Olympics. The Indian paddler was carrying high hopes on his shoulders but failed to deliver.
Earlier, Sreeja Akula beat Swedish paddler to enter in the Round of 32.
Read More
