Ace table tennis player Sharath Kamal bids emotional farewell

Ace table tennis player Sharath Kamal’s storied career came to an emotional end after succumbing to compatriot Snehit Suravajjula in the pre-quarterfinals of the WTT Star Contender tournament here on Saturday.

Sharath showed some fight but wild card Suravajjula prevailed in three straight sets — 11-9, 11-8, 11-9.

Sharath later played an exhibition match against Egypt’s Omar Assar to give another glimpse of exceptional skills to the spectators.

“Somewhere down the line I had felt it’s enough and I wanted to explore the possibility of giving back to the sport from the other side of the court,” Sharath said in his farewell address.

The 42-year-old said he would like to chip in an administrative role.

“I have done my part as a player, I felt I had contributed enough to the country as a player, and I want to contribute as an administrator, or a coach, a mentor, or even as just a senior player,” he added.

Thakkar in semis

Earlier, the 24-year-old Manav Thakkar etched his name in history books by becoming the first Indian male player to reach a WTT Star Contender semifinal.

Manav claimed victory in successive five-game thrillers over Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier and South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon, an Olympic medallist, to reach the semifinals.

Manav beat Bertelsmeier 10-12, 12-10, 15-13, 6-11, 11-5 and then overcame Jong-hoon 5-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-6, 11-1.

However, Snehit’s sensational run came to an end with a defeat against France’s Thibault Poret after his win over Sharath.

Poret won 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6.

In an electrifying showdown to close out the day, South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun powered their way to the men’s doubles crown, defeating top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima — 11-4, 11-13, 11-2, 11-3.

In the women’s doubles final, Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara battled past Shin Yu-bin and Ryu Hanna — 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 12-14, 11-5.