Birmingham [UK], August 3 (ANI): After clinching the gold medal in the men’s table tennis final at the Commonwealth Games 2022, star Indian paddler Sharath Kamal said that he is looking forward to win more medals in the singles, doubles and mixed category. Indian men’s table tennis team clinched the gold medal defeating Singapore 3-1 in the final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Tuesday. It was another dominant performance by the Indian paddlers.
“I’m looking for more medals in singles, doubles and mixed. I hope it’s just the beginning. It’s the first time I have defended a title and we have done it very well. It’s a very strong team. This (Gold) builds a lot of confidence, going into future matches,” Sharath Kamal said.
Gold medal-winning team player Harmeet Desai said that defending the title is always challenging and added that he had goosebumps when National Anthem was played as they took their place on the podium.
“It feels great. Defending your title is a big challenge. It’s a joyous moment for all of us. We beat tough teams like Nigeria and Singapore in the past 2 days, so it’s a joyous moment. I had goosebumps (when National Anthem was played), we live for that moment,” said Harmeet Desai.
Talking about the event, in the first match at the NEC Table Tennis Show Court 1, Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran went up against Yong Izaac Quek and Yew En Koen Pang. The Indian pair were firing on all cylinders and looked more comfortable in the second game as they took the early lead and closed out the game 11-7.
The Indian pair defeated their Singapore rivals 13-11, 11-7, 11-5 in the third game to give India an early lead with overall match score of 1-0. India are the defending champions in the men’s team table tennis final.
In the second match of the final, Sharath Kamal Achanta took on Zhe Yu Clarence Chew. The first game was tough for the Indian ace as he went down 7-11 against his Singapore rival.
Sharath Kamal made a strong comeback and won the second game 14-12. Singapore’s Chew won the third game 11-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. He also won the fourth game 11-9 and the second match went in favour of Singapore 11-7, 12-14, 11-3, 11-9 to level the tie 1-1.
In the third match, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran locked horns with Yew En Koen Pang. The Indian player made a remarkable comeback and won it 12-10.
In the second game of the third match, Pang beat Sathiyan 11-7 but the Indian player kept on the pressure and won the third game 11-7 and eventually the match.
The scoreline 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 reflected an amazing comeback by the Indian player.
The third match saw Harmeet Desai beat Zhe Yu Clarence Chew, who had defeated Sharath Kamal Achanta earlier.
Harmeet started strongly and took the first game 11-8. He kept up the momentum and won in straight sets 11-8, 11-5, 11-6. (ANI)
