Sharath, Shamini bow out of Asian Cup TT

Indian paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal and K Shamini have failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 26th Table Tennis Asian Cup, being played at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.

Honk Kong's Tang Peng defeated Sharath (70), the highest-ranked Indian in the world, 13-11, 7-11, 5-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7 in the qualification play-off round.

Sharath grabbed a 2-1 lead over the local favourite after losing a close first set. However, the higher-ranked Peng (36) got the next three sets to end India's challenge.

The 30-year-old Indian had entered the play-off round after registering easy wins over Iran's Alamian Nima (4-1) and Tuan Quynh Tran of Vietnam (4-2) in the group stage of the men's event.

In the women's category, Shamini failed to clear the group stage on Friday. She defeated Qatar's Mohamed Aia 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, but lost to Nanthana Komwong of Thailand 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5 to bow out of the tournament.