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Sharath Kamal climbs ITTF rankings to become India's no. 1

Achanta Sharath Kamal, the seasoned table tennis maestro has reclaimed India's No. 1 in the latest ITTF world rankings.

By Soumya | Mar 21, 2024 | 2 Min Read

Achanta Sharath Kamal, the seasoned table tennis maestro has reclaimed India’s No. 1 in the latest ITTF world rankings. This comes after a staggering jump in the latest ITTF rankings owing to his dream run at the recently concluded WTT Singapore Smash.

His remarkable resurgence followed a spellbinding performance at the Singapore Smash that ended with a loss in the quarterfinals. Despite beginning the competition as a qualifier, the 41-year-old Sharath advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating World Nos. 13 Darko Jorgic and 22 Omar Assar.

Sharath’s dream run in Singapore

The 41-year-old paddler’s quarter-final run at the Singapore Smash has proved he has many more things to offer for India. Sharath, a seven-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, reached the main draw after playing three qualifying matches and easily winning all of them.

He then defeated WR-54 in the first round (R64) and made great upsets beating World No. 13 Darko Horgic of Slovenia and WR-22 Omar Assar of Egypt to reach the quarterfinals. That stunning run has propelled the Indian legend from 88th to 34th in the men’s singles rankings.

This achievement is not only a personal triumph for Kamal but also a significant boost for Indian table tennis. With the Olympics around the corner, Sharath’s form will be crucial for the men’s team to stand a chance of winning a medal. The Indian men’s team qualified for the Olympics via rankings.

How are the other paddlers ranked?

Meanwhile, Harmeet Desai has slipped down one position and is now WR 65, followed by Manav Vikas Thakkar, 74 and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, 103. In the women’s section, Manika Batra slipped down two positions and is ranked 38 while Sreeja Akula jumped up 3 places to rank 47 and Yashaswini Ghorpade entered the top 100.

In the doubles section, the men’s double pairing of Manav Vikas Thakkar and Manush Utpalbhai Shah is ranked 17, the women’s doubles pair of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayikha Mukherjee climbed up three places to rank 14 and the mixed doubles pair of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra slipped down to 25th position.

After achieving the historic feat of representing India in the Olympics, this is surely very heartening news for all Indian table tennis fans. Moreover, with an improved ranking and the chance to represent India, Kamal is now more determined than ever to come back stronger and qualify at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After all, the Olympics are at the top of Sharath’s priority list.

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