The grand old man of Indian table tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal turned the clock back to make his first singles final since 2016 as he prevailed over Paul Drinkhall of England to set up a summit clash with another Englishman Liam Pitchford, who got the better of India’s G Sathiyan to prevent an all-Indian men’s singles final.
Sharath, who had already won gold in Men’s Team competition here, had along with his partner G Sathiyan lost to Drinkhall and Pitchford in the Men’s Doubles final, settling for a silver. Sharath and SAthiyan had lost to Drinkhall and Pitchford 3-2 in a closely fought match, going down 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11 to settle for a silver medal.
So, the Men’s Singles semifinals was a perfect setting for revenge for the Indians as Sharath was up against Drinkhall and Sathiyan was to play against Pitchford.
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: And there you go, India make it number 22. Sharath Achanta Kamal wins gold and he does it in five games. Total annihilation, after dropping the opening game.
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: Achanta has done so well and his touch play has been outstanding. He leads in the fifth game and if he wins this – he takes GOLD. He is cruising now. LIVE | IND 6-2 ENG | TT Men’s Singles Final
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: Kamal takes game four. Indians on their feet as their main man is one game away from clinching gold. He is playing top-TT. Also proving age is just a number.
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: The fourth game is underway and Kamal takes slender lead in the early stage. Good start for him. He is totally in the groove now. Hopefully there will not be any looking back.
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: The Indian has been returning well and that is making the difference in the third game. He is cruising in the third game at this point of time. LIVE | IND 6-1 ENG | TT Men’s Singles Final
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: What a comeback from Kamal. He conceded the opening game and then has bounced back to level scores. Over to the third game.
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: Manika Batra and Co. rooting for Achanta Kamal from the stands. This should give him confidence now that he is a game down in the final. It is getting tight in the second game as well. LIVE | IND 11-7 ENG | Men’s Singles TT Final
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: What an opening game, superb exchanges from both players. This match has the makings of going down to the wire again. The quality has been top-notch. LIVE | IND 11-13 ENG | Men’s TT Singles Final
LIVE | Sharath Kamal vs Liam Pitchford: Pitchford has been serving well, especially his short serve. He is controlling with his serves. Both players eyeing early edge in this summit clash.
