Table Tennis
WTT Singapore Smash: Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar exit in men's singles first round
Manav Thakkar had entered the main draw after a stellar show in the qualifying rounds.
FILE PHOTO: Achanta Sharath Kamal takes India through to the quarterfinals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023.
India's Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manav Thakkar bowed out in the opening round of the men's singles main draw at the 2025 WTT Singapore Smash on Sunday.
Sharath and Thakkar were the only two from the country to have qualified for the main draw of men's singles. While the 42-year-old Sharath had earned a direct qualification, thanks to his world ranking, Thakkar had made his way by fighting through the qualification rounds.
Sharath, playing against Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-Jui went down 2-3 in a match that lasted under 37 minutes.
The Indian was blown away in the opening game, conceding it 2-11. He, however, fought back to win the next two 11-5, and 11-8 respectively to take a 2-1 lead in the contest.
However, the joy was short-lived for Sharath as Kao won the fourth game 11-7 to force a decider. The Chinese Taipei paddler then made quick work of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee to win the fifth and final game 11-4 and advance to the next round.
Manav goes down to home favorite in a thriller
Meanwhile, Thakkar went down to Singapore's Pang Koen by a similar 2-3 margin, later in the day.
Thakkar, who was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Senior National Championships last month, was the only Indian to survive the qualification rounds of men's singles in Singapore on Saturday.
The 24-year-old from Surat won a hard-fought first game 11-9 but the Pang soon hit back to win the next two 11-9 and 11-8 respectively to take the lead.
Thakkar did well as he won the fourth game 11-7 to force a decider. But buoyed by strong home support, Pang won the final game 11-8 to oust the Indian after a 41-minute long battle.
