CWG 2022: Sharath Kamal-Sreeja Akula pair wins gold in mixed doubles TT | Commonwealth Games 2022 News

BIRMINGHAM: Indian Table Tennis Legend Achanta Sharath Kamal regardless of age to cooperate with children Sreeja Akula won a gold medal in mixed doubles at The game of commonwealth here on Sunday.
Absent in the second game, the pair Sharath and Akula completely controlled the game, comfortably defeating Javen Choong and Karen Lyne of Malaysia with the score 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 in the match. gold medal.
Sharath put on a classy performance to reach the men’s singles final.

The 40-year-old rower, who won bronze in the final tournament on the Gold Coast, beat home country Paul Drinkhall 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 9-11 , 11-8 to reach his second CWG final.
The only time Sharath, the fourth seed here, reached the final, he came back with a gold medal in the 2006 edition in Melbourne.
By the time she reached the final, Sharath had secured herself a silver medal and increased her CWG medal count to 13.
For Akula, it was her maiden CWG medal.
Earlier in the day, seasoned pair Sharath and G Sathiyan were defeated by familiar rivals Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford of England in the men’s doubles final.
The Indian duo had to settle for a gamble in the second edition in a row after losing 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11 to England.
It was a repeat of the 2018 final on the Gold Coast and to the disappointment of the Indians, it was the same result.
The Indian team received a lot of support from the crowd here but at the NEC table tennis arena on Sunday, the English fans outnumbered the Indians.
With little difference between the two pairs, the Indians got off to a good start with Sathiyan hitting a clear forehand to take a 1-0 lead in the gold medal match.
Drinkhall and Pitchford fought back in the second game. A Pitchford backhand pass made it 5-1 for England. The Indians have a hard time serving when their opponent is mixing things up.
Sharath’s backhands yielded mixed results. Pitchford’s on-field winner after a long rally gave England a 7-5 lead before they leveled the tie.
The British pair ran off with set three, which had the best demonstration of the match the Indians won after trading an explosive series of forehands away from the table.
The Indians were able to bring the final match to the decider after correcting the mistake in the fourth game.
However, Drinkhall and Pitchford took a six-point lead from 4-4 to claim a six-point gold medal in game five. They converted the first one giving a loud roar from the crowd. The Indian pair shook hands with their opponents, who once again proved to be the better of the day.