Tokyo Olympics: Sharath Kamal overcomes Apolonia to enter round 3, Sutirtha, Manika ousted

Tokyo, July 26: India paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal on Monday (July 26) progressed to Round 3 of the men's singles event after defeating Portugal's Tiago Apolonia here at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym -- Table 1 in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.

Kamal defeated Tiago 4-2 in Round 2 of the men's singles event. The entire match lasted for 48 minutes. Tiago was in top form in Game 1 and as a result, he won it 11-2, creating pressure on Sharath at the very start.

India's Kamal staged a comeback in Game 2, winning it 11-8, and as a result, the match came on level terms at 1-1. Kamal continued with his momentum and he quickly went on to take a 5-0 lead in Game 3.

The 39-year-old did not let go of this opportunity and he quickly took a 2-1 lead in the match. Portugal's Tiago staged a comeback in Game 4, and as a result, the match was poised evenly at 2-2.

However, Kamal held his own in the following two games, and as a result, he progressed to the next round. Later in the day, Manika Batra will play her Round 3 match in the women's singles event in the Olympics.

Sutirtha ousted

India's Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Portugal's Fu Yu 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 in the women's singles second round and crashed out of Olympics.

Manika exits

In the women's singles, India's Manika Batra's Olympic campaigh came to a halt as she lost to Sofia Polcanova in straight sets -- 8-11, 2-11, 5-11, 7-11.