Veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal continued his giant-killing spree as he beat Omar Assar of Egypt in the men’s singles Round of 16 of Singapore Smash, on Thursday. The 41-year-old won 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) against the World No. 22 Egyptian to make it to the next round.
Though a one-sided match, Sharath was only made to toil in the third game, where he trailed 4-8 at one stage, and yet managed to wrap up the match soon. He soon brought the game at 10-10, and closed it from there on. The multiple CWG medalist, Sharath will play his quarters encounter on Friday.
He had managed to reach the pre-quarters after beating WR-13 Darko Jorgic 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9). What is commendable is, that the WR-88 Indian Sharath is lowest-ranked opponent left in the fray. He will be up against the winner of the match between France’s Felix Lebrun and Kristian Karlsson of Sweden.
Sharath started the tournament after winning his qualifying round matches against Romania’s Andre Istrate, Yuta Tanaka of Japan and Deni Kozul of Slovenia. Then in the main draw, he beat Chile’s Nicolas Burgos 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6) in the first round, the WR-31.
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