By IANS,
New Delhi : It was heartbreak for Indian table tennis fans as defending champion Sharath Kamal lost to Singaporean Yang Zi 3-4 in the semi-finals of the men’s singles event at the Commonwealth Games Wednesday.
However, a bronze medal is assured in the singles as Sharath will face compatriot Soumyadeep Roy in the third place play-off. Soumyadeep went down to top seed Gao Ning 0-4 in the first semi-final.
The Indian doubles pair of Sharath and Subhajit Saha, who previled ove the English pair of Liam Pitchford and Andrew Baggaley in the semi-finals, also hold the hope for the gold in the final to be played in the evening.
Sharath won the first and thrid games but ultimately succumbed 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 5-11 and 9-11 at the noisy show courts of the Yamuna Sports Complex.
“I could not convert the big points and that is the reason I lost,” said Sharath.
Soumyadeep, who made it to the last four, upsetting two higher-ranked players, proved no match for world No. 17 Gao and lost 2-11, 2-11, 9-11, 7-11.
The good news came for India earlier in the morning when Sharath and his partner Subhajit Saha came from a match point down to register a thrilling 3-2 win over England’s Liam Pitchford and Andrew Baggaley in the men’s doubles semi-finals.
Sharath and Saha, the top seeded pair in the tournament, lived up to their billing and won 11-13, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6.
The victory was a sweet revenge of sorts for the Indians as the fancied hosts were stunned by England in the semi-finals of the men’s team event.
The Indian pair will face Gao and Yang in the doubles final in the evening, where they hope to win the gold.