Sharath Kamal enters Semi Finals

Bangalore, Sep 4 (UNI) National Champion A Sharat Kamal (PSPB) rallied back to defeat Anirban Nandi (RSPB) 4-2 to enter singles semi-final of the 36th All India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championship played in the Sri Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here today.

In the other quarterfinals which were closely fought, G Jitendra (RSPB) edged out Shibaji Dutta (PSPB) 4-3; Ankit Koparkar of (AI) beat R Rajesh (LIC) 4-3 and Subhasit Saha (PSPB) bt S Chakraborty (RSPB) 4-2.

In a match that lasted 40 minutes, Sharat, ranked 118 in the world, had to sweat it out as Nandi offered stiff resistance.

Sharat, after losing the first game 6-11, bounced back to win the next three games 11-6, 11-4 and 11-5 to advance to a 3-1. Nandi fought back taking the fourth game at 5-11 but PSPB star proved the better of the two by winning the sixth game at 11-8 to book his place in the last four.

In the Semi finals tomorrow, Sharat would take on Jitendra, while Ankit Koparkar will clash with S Chakraborty.

Results: Men: (Quarter finals) A Sharat Kamal (PSPB) bt Anirbhan Nandi (RSPB) 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8; G Jitendra (RSPB) bt S Dutta (PSPB) 9-11, 11-3, 7-11, 12-10, 7-11,11-6 11-9; Aniket Koparkar (AI) bt R Rajesh (LIC) 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8; S Saha (PSPB) bt S Chakraborty (RSPB) 13-11, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 14-12.

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