Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan break into top 20 in world rankings
The Indian duo is placed 17th in the men’s doubles category while Sutirtha Mukherjee has climbed 51 spots in the women’s singles section.
An impressive run that helped them clinch a silver medal at the Hungarian Open last month has now propelled the Indian table tennis duo of A Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran into the top 20 in the latest world rankings.
In the list announced by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the Indian table tennis pair has jumped 20 spots to occupy the 17th place on the back of some fine performances in the past month.
With Sathiyan Gnanasekaran’s quickness on the table accompanying Sharath Kamal’s experience and brute power, the Indian table tennis pair has been a force to reckon with on the international stage.
“I think we complement each other very well,” Sathiyan Gnanasekaran told the Olympic Channel in a recent interview. “He (Sharath Kamal) packs a lot of power in his shots, while I am quicker at the table and base my game on speed.”
Meanwhile, in the singles, the two paddlers have dropped a few places in the recent rankings. While Sathiyan Gnanasekaran continues to be the top-ranked Indian among men, he has dropped a place and is placed 31st in the men’s singles rankings. Sharat Kamal too has slipped four places to the 38th spot.
Apart from the two, India’s Anthony Amalraj has seen himself climb seven places in the rankings ladder in the latest list. The paddler from Tamil Nadu has broken into the top-100 and is ranked 98th in the singles category.
Among women, national champion Sutirtha Mukherjee has been the biggest mover on the rankings chart. The Kolkata athlete has climbed 51 spots to occupy the 109th spot in the women’s singles section, a career-best for her.
The 24-year-old is the second-best paddler in the country behind India’s top-ranked Manika Batra, who is placed 62nd.
Sutirtha Mukherjee has been in a rich vein of form lately, coming up with some performances at the Olympics Team qualifying event, Hungarian Open, Portugal Open and the Qatar Open.