WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 | Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath make winning starts, doubles teams disappoint

09/23/2021

In a disappointing day for Indian paddlers at the WTT Star Contender Doha 2021, all the doubles teams crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday, September 22. The only positives which came out for India were from women's singles, where Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath won their first-round matches.

It was not the greatest of starts for ace India paddler G Sathiyan, as he bowed out of the men's doubles competition in the WTT Star Contender Doha 2021. But youngsters Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath provided much-needed relief to the Indian camp, as they both made it to the second rounds of the women's single category.

The team of Anthony Amalraj and G Sathiyan fell 1-3 to Kazuhiro Yoshimura and Yuto Kizukuri of Japan in the men’s doubles round of 16.

According to a report in Olympics.com, Akula beat Slovakia’s Tatiana Kukulkova 3-2 (11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9) in the round of 64. She will now face South Korea’s Suh Hyuwon. On the other hand, Archana Kamath - a former U21 world No. 2 - beat Great Britain’s Tin-Tin Ho 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8) in the round of 64 and will be up against Canada’s Mo Zhang next.

In another result, Kamath's campaign in the mixed doubles came to an end though. Pairing with Manav Thakkar, the team lost 0-3 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8) to Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong. Similar was the story in men's doubles for India’s Harmeet Desai and Anthony Amalraj.

In another men's doubles encounter, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar lost 0-3 to Japan’s Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami.

Desai, later lost first-round singles match 0-3 against Marcelo Aguirre of Paraguay.

Meanwhile, Sathiyan is due to start his singles campaign versus Croatia’s Andrej Gacina in the round of 32.