Veteran Indian paddler Sharath Kamal Achanta put up an exquisite performance to win the gold medal in the table tennis men’s singles event. The gold in the men’s singles makes it an incredible fourth medal for the 40-year-old at this year’s Commonwealth Games. His overall medal tally at the Commonwealth Games stands at 13 medals.
Sharath Kamal defeated local favorite Liam Pitchford in 5 games with a score line of 11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8.
The first game was tightly contested as it saw the Brit win it with a score of 13-11.
Sharath managed to come back strongly in the second game despite a shaky start that saw him make unforced errors early on. The game went in favor of him with a score of 11-7.
The third game saw Sharath absolutely take command of the table as he conceded only 2 points to take the game 11-2 and cruise into a 2-1 lead.
The Indian ace carried on with the momentum as he increased the gap with a 3-1 lead as he won the third game with a score of 11-6.
The fourth game seemed to be going the way of the Indian as he was on the verge of claiming the gold when Pitchford won two successive points. On Sharath’s first gold medal point, the ball had deflected off his shirt and onto his racquet. The point was awarded to Pitchford as the game stood at 10-8 as Sharath had his second gold medal point. The Indian wasted no time as forced an error from Pitchford to seal the game 11-8 and win the tie 4-1 to clinch the gold medal.
This medal adds to Sharath’s gold in the men’s team event, a silver in the men’s doubles and the gold in the mixed doubles with partner Sreeja Akula.
Image credit: Twitter
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