India Open: Sharath edges Drinkhall to enter semi finals

New Delhi: Home favourite Achanta Sharath Kamal eked out a 4-3 (11-4, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 13-11) win over sixth seeded Paul Drinkhall of England to enter the semi-finals of the ITTF World Tour India Open at Thyagaraj Stadium here on Saturday.

The seven-time national champion and world no. 62 had to pull out his prime defensive game to outwit and outlast Drinkall, a multiple medal winner in the last two Commonwealth Games.

Sharath began on a strong note, racing away to a 11-4 win in the opening game. But Drinkhall quickly got his game together and frustrated Sharath with well thought out tactics. He reeled off the next two games to put the pressure back on the Indian.

The 34-year-old Sharath came back strongly to win the next two games before Drinkhall broke that momentum to take the sixth game and take the match into a decider.

Sharath continued to attack and it helped him get stay in the contest and two saved match points and a couple of forehand drives saw him emerge triumphant.

Earlier, top seeded Ovtcharov Dimitrij survived a scare to advance into the semi-finals after a 4-3 (7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, 4-11, 6-11, 12-10) win over Yuya Oshima of Japan.