Sharath shocker!

Achanta Sharath Kamal returns to Slovenia’s Deni Kozul during their 2nd-round match yesterday. Pics/PTI

Indian table tennis veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal made a shock exit from the Paris Olympics men's singles competition, but star woman player Manika Batra started her campaign with a 4-1 thrashing of her opponent in a round of 64 match here on Sunday. The 42-year-old Kamal, who was making his fifth Olympics appearance, lost 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12) to Deni Kozul of Slovenia ranked 86 places below him in a round of 64 match that lasted 53 minutes.

Tight fourth game

Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula

The Commonwealth Games champion Indian, ranked 40th in the world, won a tight first game but lost the next three to trail 1-3. He recovered and made it 2-3 but again lost a tight fourth game to bow out of the competition. His opponent is ranked 126th in the world. The 29-year-old Manika, on the other hand, dominated Anna Hursey of Great Britain in her round of 64 women's singles match that lasted 41 minutes.

Sreeja, Manika in Round 2

The 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Manika, seeded 18th in the tournament and ranked 28th in the world, won 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5 over Hursey, who is World No. 103. In the process, Manika equalled her feat at the Tokyo Olympics where she became the first women's table tennis player from India to make it to the round of 32 in singles. Earlier in the day, India's top-ranked woman paddler Sreeja Akula entered the round of 32 with a clinical 4-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8) win over Sweden's Christina Kallberg.

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