Indian paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal and K. Shamini failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 26th Asian Cup table tennis, being played at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.
Honk Kong’s Tang Peng (ranked 36th) defeated Sharath (70), the highest-ranked Indian in the world, 13-11, 7-11, 5-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7 in the qualification play-off round.
Sharath had entered the play-off round after registering easy wins over Iran’s Alamian Nima (4-1) and Tuan Quynh Tran of Vietnam (4-2) in the group stage of the men’s event.
In the women’s category, Shamini failed to clear the group stage. She defeated Qatar’s Mohamed Aia 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, but lost to Nanthana Komwong of Thailand 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5 to bow out of the tournament.
