Sharath Kamal goes down fighting to Ma Long, India's Tokyo Olympics table tennis campaign ends
Sharath Kamal, the last remaining Indian table tennis player at Tokyo 2020, was beaten in five games by Olympic champion Ma Long.
India’s Sharath Kamal fought hard but fell in five games to veteran three-time Olympic champion Ma Long of China in the third round of the men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
Second-seed Ma Long beat Sharath Kamal 11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Both players displayed exceptional movement in the first game, with Sharath Kamal’s reactions helping him keep level with Ma Long. However, the Chinese player’s attacks were superior and he soon took the first game.
Sharath Kamal’s attacks gave him an 8-4 lead in the second game but a few netted returns allowed Ma Long a way back. However, the Indian table tennis player kept calm and pulled off a few excellent angled forehands to win the game and draw parity.
The 39-year-old Sharath Kamal carried that momentum to build an early lead in the third game but Ma Long soon levelled with intricate attacks. Both players were inconsistent with their returns and in the end, Ma Long held on to win the game.
The 32-year-old Chinese player showed his class in the fourth to push Sharath Kamal towards the back of the table. It induced several errors from the Indian and kept Ma Long one game away from victory.
A deflated Sharath Kamal was then unable to deal with Ma Long’s cross-court play and the world No. 3 Chinese soon wrapped up the match without much trouble.
The loss brought an end to India’s table tennis campaign at Tokyo 2020.
Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee exited on Monday while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bowed out two days back.
The pair of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra were also beaten in the first round of the mixed doubles table tennis event.