Qualifier Sharath Kamal’s dream run in the WTT-Singapore Smash table tennis championships came to an end in Singapore on Friday as he lost to Felix Lebrun of France, the sixth seed, (1-4) 9-11, 2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11 in the quarterfinals. This is the best WTT tournament for Sharath in recent times.
The 41-year-old is expected to enter the World’s top 40 (now 88) and he will be India No. 1 next week pulling ahead of Harmeet Desai (world ranked 64) and Manav Thakkar (83) when the rankings are released. In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Sharath couldn’t have asked for more.