Commonwealth Games 2022: 40-year-old Sharath Kamal won his 4th medal in Birmingham when he defeated Liam Pitchford of England to win Gold in men’s singles table tennis category.
Sharath Kamal won his 2nd men’s singles Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games (Reuters Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Sharath Kamal won his 2nd singles Gold at CWG after 16 years
- Sharath defeated higher-ranked Pitchford 4-1 in the final
- Sharath won 4 medals in Birmingham, including 3 Gold
What a champion! What a player! Achanta Sharath Kamal on Monday, August 8 won his second men’s singles table tennis Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. 16 years after he won Gold in Melbourne, Sharath Kamal returned to the top of the podium in the singles category.
Achanta Sharath Kamal defeated World No. 20 Liam Pitchford and local favourite 4-1 in the men’s singles final to clinch Gold and take his Commonwealth Games tally to a whopping 13 medals. Sharath Kamal completed the Birmingham Games, which could be his last appearance in CWG, with 4 medals, including 3 Gold medals.
Sharath Kamal, ranked 39 in the world, wanted to his make his final match in Birmingham special and he did so with a spectacular come-from-behind win against the higher-ranked paddler. The 40-year-old lost the opening game but raised his intensity to stun Pitchford 11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5, 11-8.
Earlier in the day, G Sathiyan won bronze after a marathon battle with Paul Drinkhall of England in the men’s singles play-offs. Notably, Sathiyan had lost to Pitchford in the semi-final on Sunday.
Notably, it was fine revenge from Sharath as the Indian men’s doubles pair of the senior paddler and G Sathiyan had lost to Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall in the Gold medal match on Sunday.
Sharath Kamal, who will be India’s flagbearer in the closing ceremony, was on fire in Birmingham. Sharath led India to their defence of the men’s Gold gold, clinching a crucial win over Aruna Quadri of Nigeria in the semi-final.
Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan stormed into the final of the men’s doubles but finished 2nd best. However, Sharath and young Sreeja Akula combined in the mixed doubles final to win Gold.
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