Sharath Kamal accorded top rank in men's TT nationals

Patna: Top-ranked paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal, who was at the sixth position in the seeding list at the Raipur nationals last year, was today given the no 1 spot on the basis of world ranking points in the men's singles of 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championships here.

The move to top position to Kamal was accorded after main draw taken out at the Patliputra Sports Complex.

This would enable him to play directly in the quarter final rounds of the tournament.

In the women’s section, his Petroleum Sports Promotoion Board (PSPB) teammate Madhurika Patkar has been seeded No. 1, thanks to her two title victories at the Gandhidham (Central) and Thane (West) zonal events earlier this season.

Normally, players are seeded as per the ranking points they accumulate during the domestic events throughout the year. In the case of Sharath, who has not played in a single tournament in India this season, the technical committee considered his world ranking, at No. 50, as the basis for the seeding. "Since Sharath has been representing India at various IITF pro-tours this season and is the top-ranked Indian in the world, he has been seeded No. 1 in the championship," said competition manager Ganeshan N Iyer.

"For other players, we have purely taken into consideration their ranking points accrued from the domestic events," he added. Soumyajit Ghosh, who is the men’s singles title-holder has been seeded fifth behind former national champion Anthony Amal Raj (No. 2), Sanil Shetty (No. 3) and Harmeet Desai (No. 4).

Ghosh missed a few zonals, which reflected in the ranking points he was able to garner this season.

Since Ghosh form part of the top-half, he is likely to meet top-seed Sharath in the semifinals barring early hiccups.