Sharath Kamal Achanta Writes New Chapter in Indian Sporting History

ITTF Press Release

India 29 year old Sharath Kamal ACHANTA and Japan�s 20 year old Yuka ISHIGAKI won the respective Men�s and Women�s Singles titles at the Egypt Open in Cairo on Sunday 11th July 2010.

Sharath Kamal ACHANTA, seeded no.6, took a distinct liking to adversaries from Hong Kong, beating players from that association in both semi-final and final encounters.

At the penultimate stage he defeated JIANG Tianyi, the no.2 seed; in the final, LI Ching, the no.1 seed.

It was the first Men�s Singles title on the ITTF Pro Tour for Sharath Kamal ACHANTA, as it was for Yuka ISHIGAKI in the counterpart Women�s Singles event.

Seeded no.4, she used her secure defensive skills to good effect to beat Hong Kong�s ZHANG Rui at the semi-final stage and Turkey�s HU Melek, the no. 3 seed, in the final.

It was the second time in the tournament that HU Melek and Yuka ISHIGAKI had met; one day earlier Yuka ISHIGAKI had prevailed in a close seven games encounter at the penultimate stage of the Under 21 Women�s Singles event before losing to Romania�s Elizabeta SAMARA in the final.

Certainly Yuka ISHIGAKI had learnt from the experience.

Success for Japan in the Women�s Singles event and also in the Women�s Doubles competition where top seeds, Sayaka HIRANO and Reiko HIURA defeated second seeds, Hong Kong�s LIN Ling and ZHANG Rui at the final hurdle.

Disappointment for Hong Kong but there was success, JIANG Tianyi and LEUNG Chu Yan combined to win the Men�s Doubles crown; in the final they beat the partnership of Russia�s Mikhail GLADYSHEV and SAbdel-Kader SALIFOU of France.

The victory secured by Sayaka HIRANO and Reiko HIURA was their third as a partnership on the ITTF Pro Tour, for JIANG Tianyi and LEUNG Chu Yan it was their first.

Men�s Singles
Semi-Finals

LI Ching (HKG) bt El-Sayed LASHIN (EGY) 12-10, 11-2, 12-14, 11-6, 11-4
Sharath Kamal ACHANTA (IND) bt JIANG Tianyi (HKG) 11-6, 11-6, 14-16, 12-10, 11-9

Final
Sharath Kamala ACHANTA (IND) bt LI Ching (HKG) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4

Women�s Singles
Semi-Finals

HU Melek (TUR) bt Linda CREEMERS (NED) 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2, 11-6
Yuka ISHIGAKI (JPN) bt ZHANG Rui (HLG) 9-11, 4-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9

Final
Yuka ISHIGAKI (JPN) bt HU Melek (TUR) 13-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7

Men�s Doubles
Final
JIANG Tianyi/LEUNG Chu Yan (HKG) bt Mikhail GLADYSHEV/Abdel-Kader SALIFOU IRUS/FRA) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7

Women�s Doubles
Final

Sayaka HIRANO/Reiko HIURA (JPN) bt LIN Ling/ZHANG Rui (HKG) 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3

Read More: http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=21504&Competition_ID=1961&


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