Achanta Sharath Kamal has been provided the top-seed men's singles slot in the senior national table tennis champiuonship for the first time in two years since 2013.
Just a year before, at the Raipur nationals, he was seeded No. 6 after he chose to skip national ranking tournaments the previous year. But he was restored to his position at Patna and in the next edition at Pudhucherry Sharath had given a skip to the nationals last year.
This No. 1 seeding generally goes the way of the top paddler in the country, purely based on the ranking points he or she has garnered through regular participation in national ranking championships. Sharath did not participate in any such championships in the past two years for various reasons-personal commitments with his German club and owing to intermittent injuries.
However, he has been cautious of his world ranking and, as a regular participant in international circuit events, has kept it somewhat intact through decent performances.
Just before the hip injury he sustained during the world championships in China, the ace Indian paddler had touched the peak of his with the world ranking of 32 in May 2015. He was in a phenomenal form, having toppled two top-20 players in the world during that period and jumped 12 places. No other Indian had done that before, nor will any in the near future. That speaks volumes of the caliber the man possesses.
However, probably an error of judgment on his part - he hurried with his return to the Asian Championships at Pattaya - has cost him dear in recent times. Yet another injury just before the Commonwealth Games at Surat had prevented his participation. So much so, his world ranking has taken a beating and, according to the ITTF's January list, he is placed at No. 67 - by far the best ranked Indian.
These are reasons enough for the competition department of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) to give him the top-seed position for the men's singles main draw, which begins in the 77th Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at the Kotla Vijay Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium here tomorrow, Sharath has been accorded this benefit yet again for being the top-ranked Indian in the world at 67.
In Junior Girls, Taipei A's Wu Yi-Hua, Yang Ya-Yin played
well against India C's Priyanka Pareek and Archana Girish Kamath to win 3-1. Though the Taipei girls led 1-0, Archana beat Yang 12-14, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 to level the score. But the Taipei's doubles win over the India C pair ensured things became easy as Archana lost her reverse singles to Wu in a tough 11-4, 11-3, 15-17, 9-11, 8-11 battle after leading 2-0.
Results: Team Events:
Junior Boys Final: Taipei beat India A 3-0 (Lai Chi-Chien bt Ronit Bhanja 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, Tai Ming-Wei bt Siddhesh Pande 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, Lai/Tai bt Pande/Bhanja 5-11, 11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7)
Semifinal: Taipei beat India B 3-1, India A beat India C 3-2.
Junior Girls Final: Taipei b beat Taipei A 3-0 (Chen Ying-Chen bt Yang Ya-yan 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, Su Pei-Lang bt Wu Yi-Hua 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9, Chen/Su bt Yang/Wu 11-9, 11-7, 11-4)
Semifinal: Taipei B beat India E 3-0, Taipei A beat India C.
Cadet Boys Final: Taipei beat India A 3-0 (Huang Yan-Cheng bt Jeho 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, Huang Hung-Chou bet Anukram Jain 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, Yan/Hung bt Jeho/Anukram 9-11, 13-11, 12-14, 11-6, 11-6)
Semifinal: Taipei beat India D 3-1, India A beat India E 3-1.
Cadet Girls Final: Chinese Taipei A bt India B 3-1 (Chien Tung-Chuan bt Ishita Gupta 7-11, 9-11, 15-13, 11-4, 11-3, Chang Ju-Chia bt Swastika Ghosh 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, Chen/Chang lost to Ishita/Swastika 5-11, 7-11, 7-11, Chien Tung-Chuan bt Swastika Ghosh 11-9, 11-9, 11-7)
Semifinal: India B beat India A 3-1, Taipei A beat Taipei B 3-2.
