Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal became a first round casualty when Chinese Yan An pulled off a 4-2 upset against the Indian in Pro Tour Polish Open Table Tennis Championships in Warsaw.
World number 70 Sharath went down 10-12, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 15-13, 7-11 to his Chinese opponent, currently 221st in the ITTF rating list, in a marathon encounter yesterday.
Sharath was the only Indian to get a direct entry to the main draw of men’s singles section, while compatriot Pathik Mehta failed to clear the qualifying round earlier.
The Chennai paddler was off to a bad start in the match and despite some spirited fight, three consecutive games slipped through his fingers.
The Indian then tried to claw his way back into the game and bagged the next two games. But Yan, who occupies the ninth spot in the ITTF junior ranking list, wrapped up the issue soon by clinching the sixth game.
