India’s table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal beat World No 20 Liam Pitchford to win gold in the men’s singles event at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
The win for the 40-year-old from Chennai helped him bag his seventh gold medal at the marquee event since his debut at Melbourne 2006. He’s also won three silver and three bronze medals over the five editions he’s competed in.
In Birmingham though, the singles crown ended a campaign that saw him win gold in the men’s singles, men’s team and mixed doubles event, along with a silver in the men’s doubles event with G Sathiyan.
#CWG2022 #B2022 #TableTennis
— The Field (@thefield_in) August 8, 2022
What a Commonwealth Games campaign @sharathkamal1 has had in Birmingham! 🥇🥇🥇🥈https://t.co/BqmKuUfkzB pic.twitter.com/xFnmJU669g
Sharath started the match by losing the first game, but used his experience and stayed calm to bounce back and win the next four games against the home favourite to come up with a 11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8 win over Pitchford.
Earlier in the day, Sathiyan ensured a spot on the podium by beating England’s Paul Drinkhall in a tight and hard-fought bronze medal match.
The 29-year-old won the first three games before Drinkhall made an inspired comeback to make it 3-3 in the match.
As a team, @sharathkamal1 and @sathiyantt defended their title in the men's team event. Individually, they're both on the podium at #CWG2022 #B2022. A strong outing at the Commonwealth Games for two highest ranked Indian singles players in world table tennis. pic.twitter.com/NndDcL3Zl5
— Shahid Judge (@shahidthejudge) August 8, 2022
The deciding game was no less thrilling. Sathiyan raced to a 7-1 lead and looked set to win the match before Drinkhall came back and made it 8-8. But the Indian managed to keep his composure in front of a partisan crowd in Birmingham to pull off a 11-9, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9 win to claim his first Commonwealth Games singles medal.
At the end of the campaign, the Indians topped the medal tally in table tennis with seven medals – four gold, one silver and two bronze.
| Event | Medal | Player/s |
|---|---|---|
| Men's team | Gold | Achanta Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty |
| Men's singles | Gold | Achanta Sharath Kamal |
| Para women's singles (class 3-5) | Gold | Bhavina Patel |
| Mixed doubles | Gold | Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula |
| Men's doubles | Silver | Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan |
| Men's singles | Bronze | G Sathiyan |
| Para women's singles (class 3-5) | Bronze | Sonalben Patel |