Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian men’s table tennis team enters final, Achanta Kamal wins 10th CWG medal

Defending champions India advanced to the men’s table tennis final with a 3-0 win over Nigeria on Monday. This would indicate that veteran cricketer Achanta Kamal is all set to win his 10th medal at the Commonwealth Games.

The Indian team came into the field full of confidence after their 3-0 win over Bangladesh on Sunday. Harmeet Desai and Sathyan Gnanasekaran started their semi-final clash with Nigeria on the right foot as they registered a comfortable doubles win over Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omodayo. Desai and Gnanasekaran won 11-6, 11-7 and 11-7.

Next it was Kamal’s turn with Quadri Aruna in the first singles match. The 40-year-old was restricted by Aruna in the first game but managed to win 11-9.

However, the Nigerian star bounced back in the second game to win 11-7 and put the pressure on Kamal ahead of the third game.

In the third game, the Indian batsman came back strong and defeated Aruna to regain the lead in the match. He confirmed it with a score of 11-8.

However, the fourth game went down to the wire and was evenly matched. Despite Aruna’s best efforts, Kamal ultimately got the better of him on the day and secured a 15-13 victory in the fourth game. With this, India extended their lead to 2-0.

Gnanasekaran was next in second singles against Omodayo. The 29-year-old took the first game 11-9.

However, the Indian paddler sprung a surprise in the second game as Omodayo took him 11-4.

Gnanasekaran bounced back in the third game to regain the lead at 11-6.

The fourth game between the two was even, with the score tied 4-4 at one point. However, the 29-year-old Indian batsman stood firm and took the fourth game 11-8.

India will face Singapore in the final on August 2.

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