Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra seal Olympic mixed doubles spot

Indian table tennis duo Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra qualified for the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics after winning the final at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.

Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra beat Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee of South Korea 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8.

Sangsu and Jihee are now in the reserves list for Tokyo 2020 and will be first-choice replacements from Asia in case any pair is unable to take part at the Summer Games.

The South Korean pair, who reached the final at the WTT Star Contender Doha last week, dominated the opening game, racing to a 6-2 lead and then 10-4. However, Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra saved four game points before eventually conceding.

The second game was a shorter affair for Sangsu and Jihee but the Indian table tennis players hit back in the next two games, counter-attacking well and barely allowing the South Koreans any openings as they levelled the match.

In the decisive fifth game, Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra rode on their momentum to build a 7-4 lead but Sangsu and Jihee hit back to level at 8-8.

The Indian duo saved three game points before winning three consecutive points themselves to win the closely-contested game.

The effort seemed to have taken a lot out of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra as they conceded a lot of points initially.

However, the duo dug deep to win six points in a row and went from trailing 4-8 to leading 10-8.

The change in momentum was too much to handle for Sangsu and Jihee as Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra scripted a memorable comeback to seal their berth.

Both Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra had already sealed their singles spots for Tokyo earlier, along with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sutirtha Mukherjee.

Lead photo: ITTF