Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Former champion Achanta Sharath Kamal became the first Indian paddler to book a spot at the Tokyo Olympic Games after he defeated Pakistani opponent Muhammad Rameez in the second s singles round-robin match in the South Asia group at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha on Thursday.
The veteran suffered an initial defeat against fellow countryman Gnansekaran Sathiyan 9-11, 13-15, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11 in the opening match of the group;
However looked in complete control against Pakistani Muhammad Rameez as he took just over 22 minutes to wrap up the game 11-4, 11-1, 11-5, 11-4 comfortably and seal the Tokyo berth with at least a second-place finish in the group, and by virtue of being the highest-ranked paddler in the event.
“It was a good match against Sathiyan but I made some errors and he capitalised on them to win the match. I was a bit nervous before playing against Rameez as I had never faced him before. But after the first few games I was confident that my strategy was working and I executed it well to maintain control,” the World No. 32 Sharath said from Doha after qualifying.
With six quotas up for grabs for the Olympics – each in the men’s and women’s category from this final qualifying tournament – the group topper of five zones and the remaining one quota is awarded to the highest-ranked second-placed player in the event.
Sharath being the top-ranked No. 2 player in the group, secured the Olympic berth under the Asian quota.
Sharath also cruised into the semi-finals in the mixed doubles semi-finals with Manika Batra defeating Mohammed Abdulwahhab and Maha Faramarzi of Qatar 11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 in the quarters.
The star Indian pair, who received a bye in the first round, will now take on Koen Pang Yew En and Ye Lin of Singapore in the last-four match on Friday.
Sathiyan too is now just one win away from joining Sharath in qualifying for the Tokyo Games as he takes on Rameez in the final round-robin South Asian group game later tonight.
Other Indians in action will be Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee as they will play an all-Indian women’s singles South Asia group match and the winner will grab a place in the Olympics.