WTT Star Contender | Indian paddler Archana Kamath eliminated in quarter-final
Indian Table Tennis star Archana Kamath went down to Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem 1-3, after putting up a spirited display at the WTT Star Contender, in Doha. Having won the first game surprsingly, the 21-year old Indian came close in the second as well but lost the game and the match eventually.
Seven Indian players, including 2020 Tokyo Olympics star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran competed at the ongoing WTT Star Contender in Doha. With most of the players already eliminated from the competition, it was women’s paddler Archana Kamath who kept India’s hopes alive, by entering into the quarter-finals.
Up against Doo Hoi Kem, the world no 15, Archana won the first game to everyone’s surprise in the last-eight clash. But, the veteran took control of the match from there on, hammering the Indian to win 3-1 in the match, with scores of 11-9, 11-13, 8-11, 6-11.
In fact, Archana gave a strong fight in the second game as well with her quick returns to unstable her opponent. Yet, Hoi Kem made a strong comeback and won it on deuce. Following this, it was one-way traffic.
Archana had previously defeated Mo Zhang of Canada (ranked 39) in the second round while following it up with a win over Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki in the round-of-16.