Table Tennis
Tokyo Olympics: Table Tennis LIVE Day 4, July 27 — Can Sharath Kamal bloom against Ma Long? — Updates, scores, results, blog
India's veteran paddler Sharath Kamal has the toughest challenge on his plate as he will have to take on the legendary Ma Long - the reigning Olympic champ.
Welcome to The Bridge's LIVE blog for Table Tennis on Day 4 of the Tokyo Olympics.
After the exceptional performance against Portuguese Tiago Apolonia yesterday, in Round 2, will 39-year-old Indian table tennis star, Achanta Sharath Kamal be able to tame Ma "The Dragon" Long and make the biggest upset of his entire career? Let's find out and keep our fingers crossed!
The reigning World and Olympic champion, Ma Long holds a 4-0 lead in their head to head. Toughest challenge for Sharath Kamal ahead - let's see if he can cause an impact here as the lone remaining Indian paddler at the Tokyo Olympics.
Follow all our LIVE updates here:
Live Updates
- 27 July 2021 3:45 AM GMT
Forehand galore
Sharath is known for his fluid backhand, forehand today seems to make the cut.
Sharath looks pumped, leads 5-3
- 27 July 2021 3:41 AM GMT
Quality rallies: Long takes Set 1
Even as the players find their rhythm, the match already treats fans with some grueling rallies.
Long wins 11-7. The scorecard doesn't do justice to how Sharath is playing, however.
- 27 July 2021 3:37 AM GMT
Early days at the "Long" shot
Sharath counters Ma Long's smash to the open forehand corner, plays an awkward body shot to score, all seem too little at the moment.
Long leads 5-3
- 27 July 2021 3:30 AM GMT
Players on table
India's poster boy Sharath kamal and the defending champion Ma Long makes their way to the table
Ma Long wins the toss and chooses his side of the table
🐉Ma Long's record: 👇
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 27, 2021
Olympic Golds 🥇 x 3⃣
World Championship titles x 1⃣2⃣
World Cup Titles x 9⃣#SharathKamal needs to pull off a big upset here! #Tokyo2020 #TableTennis - 27 July 2021 3:27 AM GMT
About time
The match scheduled before Sharath v/s Ma Long on the same table just concluded.
After a slight delay, the much-awaited round 3 will begin soon
Stay tuned..
- 27 July 2021 3:13 AM GMT
Know the opponent : Ma Long
Ma Long is considered to be the G.O.A.T in table tennis (greatest of all time) due to the fact that he has 3 Olympics Gold, 12 World Championship titles, and 9 World Cups attached to his name along with 2 silver medals and 6 bronze at World level tournaments.
Currently ranked 3rd in the world, he is nicknamed "The Dictator" and "The Dragon" Read further on today's match preview here
THIS. NEVER. GETS. OLD!! 🤯🤯🤯#PointOfTheCentury #WaybackWednesday #MaLong #FangBo #ITTFWorlds2015 pic.twitter.com/iH94NWkjBH
— ITTF World (@ittfworld) September 4, 2019 - 27 July 2021 3:10 AM GMT
Match Day: An uphill task awaits Sharath Kamal in Round 3
Sharath Kamal did astoundingly well yesterday to brush aside the Portuguese challenge from Tiago Apolonia to become the first Indian man to reach Olympics Round 3 in Table Tennis
@sharathkamal1 wins the second round against T Apolonia in Men Singles and advances to Round 3 #TokyoOlympics
— Table Tennis Federation of India (@ttfitweet) July 26, 2021
Watch his match Round 3 tomorrow at 6:30 am IST
#Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India #TableTennisIndia #TableTennis #sharathkamalTuesday, however, is an uphill battle, as Sharath takes on the "The Dragon himself" China's Ma Long