Sharath goes down fighting in ITTF Pro Tour Finals

Calcutta News.Net
Saturday 18th December, 2010

India's top table tennis player Sharath Kamal fought hard against World No.16 Seung Min Ryu of South Korea, but lost 3-4 in the quarterfinals of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Grand Final in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday.

World No.48 Sharath, who became the first Indian to qualify here since the inception of the prestigious event in 1996, stretched the South Korean 3-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 8-11 in a thrilling last eight contest.

Sixteen players who amass maximum points in the ITTF calendar year get to play in the year-ending tournament.

Earlier, Sharath edged out Seung's countryman Sang Su Lee 11-13, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 15-13 in a nail-biting round of 16 match Friday.

Sharath along with Subhajit Saha won the doubles gold in the Delhi Commonwealth Games upsetting a formidable Singaporean pair of Gao Ning and Yang Zi in the gold medal match.

But here the Indians proved no match for Gao and Yang, losing 8-11, 1-11, 3-11, 7-11 in the first round.

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