New Delhi, Apr 16:
Brushing aside his four-year-old London disappointment and the third-place finish in the South Asia Zone qualifiers just a couple of days ago, Achanta Sharath Kamal fought his way back to the decisive final round in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium to grab the second men’s slot today.
At the Asian Olympic Games Qualification tournament’s Stage 2 men’s singles event, the Indian defeated Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan 4-3 (12-14,11-6,3-11,7-11,11-4,11-7,11-6), much to his own relief and that of his team-mates for whom he has been an iconic player.
Sharath, who made his first Olympic appearance at Athens in 2004, will be at the Riocentro in Barra da Tijuca, the table tennis venue, in August in the company of Soumyajit Ghosh, Manika Batra and Mouma Das, who also made her first Olympic appearance at Athens. A maximum of two players per National Olympic Committee is allowed to compete in both the singles event at the Games. And, for the first time, India will be represented by a full four-member squad at Rio. After spending a relaxed night following his tough win over Saudi adversary Ali Alkhadrawi, Sharath knew it was going to be a testing contest against the 25-year-old Alamiyan. (UNI)
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