NEW DELHI: Experienced Indian paddlers Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan showcased their skills to perfection as they secured victories in their opening matches of the men's singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, South Africa on Sunday.
Star paddler Manika Batra also won her opening match, defeating Lynda Loghraibi of Algeria 4-0 (11-1 11-3 11-2 11-5).
Ranked 56th in the world, Sharath Kamal defeated Austria's David Serdaroglu, ranked 170th, in a thrilling encounter, winning 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 to advance to the round of 64.
Meanwhile, Sathiyan started his campaign on a positive note by triumphing over England's Tom Jarvis in a seven-game battle, emerging victorious with a scoreline of 4-3 (11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-2, 15-13, 13-11, 11-6).
While Manush Shah and Harmeet Desai faced defeats in their opening matches on Saturday, Sreeja Akula emerged victorious in her round of 128 clash against Nicole Arlia of Italy.
