Paris Olympics 2024: Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai fall short as Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra advance

Achanta Sharath Kamal’s Olympic singles journey ended on a disappointing note as he lost to Deni Kozul of Slovenia in his Round of 64 fixture. Despite being ranked 86 places above the World No. 126 Kozul, Sharath fell short in a six-game contest, ending 2-4.

LIVE: India at Paris Olympics on Day 3

The Indian legend got off to a strong start with a 12-10 victory in the first game. A change of tactics by the Slovenian led to Sharath losing the next 3 games on the trot, and the match eventually finished at 2-4.

Sharath, known for his powerful forehands, failed to create opportunities to make room for himself and get the big forehand topspin in play. His service receives and touch-play near the net were found wanting, allowing Kozul to frequently initiate the attacking shot and disrupt Sharath’s rhythm. Sharath, clearly in discomfort from Kozul’s attacking barrage, tried to manufacture attacking shots when the opportunities were not present, resulting in multiple unforced errors. Kozul also kept Sharath guessing, by switching his attack spots between Sharath’s backhand and mid-section, with the occasional change to the extreme forehand. This allowed for indecisiveness to creep into the Indian legend’s shot selection.

Rally for glory | India table tennis target medals

Trailing 1-3, Sharath revamped his approach by solidifying his backhand, which extended the rallies and gave him a chance to leverage his strong forehand. He took the fifth game and led 10-6 in the sixth. However, a shocking lapse of concentration allowed Deni to win 6 consecutive points and win the match 4-2.

Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more

Sharath’s tactical adjustments came too late, and his shot selection was not at the usual level. He will hope to reflect on this performance and come back stronger in the Men’s team event.

Harmeet Desai also bowed out in the Men’s singles Round of 64, losing 0-4 to teenage sensation Felix Lebrun of France.

India’s table tennis preparation: Data points and AI

World No. 5 Lebrun is one of the few exponents of the ‘Penhold Grip’ style of holding a table tennis racket, where the handle is gripped like a pen between the thumb and index finger. While this allows for exceptional wrist flexibility, creative services, and strong forehands, it is nigh impossible to hit an accurate and powerful backhand. This limitation has rendered the ‘Penhold Grip’ virtually obsolete in modern table tennis.

However, Lebrun demonstrated why the ‘Penhold Grip’ is still effective in the right hands. Harmeet, with all his experience, tried his best to exploit the limitations of the ‘Penhold Grip’ and looked to execute a plan to target Lebrun’s backhand with quick, topspin loaded attacks and engage him in long rallies. But Lebrun’s ability to adapt and overcome the perceived limitations of his grip was evident. The grip’s traditionally acknowledged weakness—the backhand—was not a significant disadvantage for him, as he managed to compensate with rapid movement and a relentless attacking style, hitting the ball as early as possible. If Harmeet was quick from the backhand, Lebrun was quicker. If Harmeet hit a heavily loaded topspin stroke, Lebrun sent it right back across with even more spin from both flanks. Lebrun also used his serves and receives to great effect, never allowing Harmeet to settle.

To Harmeet’s credit, the match was not as lopsided as it might seem, and he had his moments of brilliance. He even had a crucial 7-5 lead in the opening game, which, had he converted, might have altered the match’s momentum. But it was not to be, as a relentless Lebrun maintained his momentum to close the match out in front of a raucous home crowd.

In the women’s singles, both Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra advanced to the Round of 32.

Sreeja, in a ruthless display, demolished World No.58 Christina Kallberg of Sweden in straight games. In a performance that would surely have sounded warning bells to the rest of her competitors, Sreeja, who had previously lost 1-3 to Kallberg a mere 11 months ago, turned the tables where it mattered the most.

Sreeja uses the ‘Long Pimple’ style of rubber on her backhand. These rubbers are generally used for a defensive style of play, designed to disrupt an opponent’s rhythm. While this sounds great in theory, it takes immense fitness levels and core strength at the international level to control powerful shots hit by the opponent, and capitalise on loose balls.

Sreeja showcased these exact attributes, using her backhand for clever changes of pace and placements to constantly wrongfoot Kallberg. The Indian, well known for being amongst the fittest female players, used her dexterity to great effect as each weak shot from Kallberg was punished with a powerful forehand topspin, irrespective of the ball’s location on the table. Sreeja’s ability to take the ball early was also on full display, leaving Kallberg with hardly any time to recover between shots. Sreeja will hope to continue the same form into her Round of 32 fixture, where she will face World No. 52 Zeng Jian of Singapore.

Manika got past 18-year-old Olympic debutant Anna Hursey of Great Britain in 5 games, in a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests.

Manika also uses the ‘Long Pimple’ style of rubbers like Sreeja. However, this is where the similarity ends as both players have very distinct styles of using the same equipment. Manika, who is a lot taller than Sreeja, prefers to ‘twiddle’ her racket rather than move around to hit a forehand from the backhand side of the table. A ‘twiddle’ helps her use rubbers of different properties from both flanks, keeping her opponents guessing about the pace and spin of the ball in rallies. This allows her to be imposing on the table and use her height to cover maximum ground.

Anna, in a display of maturity belying her young years, looked extremely well prepared to deal with Manika’s backhand. Employing a tactic of loopy shots loaded with topspin to Manika’s long pimples, Anna kept pushing Manika to the brink in almost every rally and looked to be getting better with each passing game. However, Manika used the ‘twiddle’ tactic to great effect, and started bringing more of her forehand into play to keep Anna guessing. The good form of her forehand bodes well for Manika, as she next faces southpaw Prithika Pavade of France, whose natural angle will surely keep Manika’s forehand in play.

(The author, a National Level table tennis player, has represented the state of Maharashtra across all age groups and at the senior level. He was the Under 12 Indian national champion and participated in international tournaments at the age-group level. Additionally, he is a silver medallist at the All India University championships, representing the University of Mumbai.

He has completed a Masters in Sport Management from Loughborough University, and is currently working with the coach education team for British Rowing, the National Governing Body for rowing in England).