Ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal lost to Peng Tang of Hong Kong 1-4 to bow out of the Men's TT World Cup at his maiden appearance in Verviers, Belgium today.
The first Indian to qualify for the prestigious event, Sharath went down to 26th ranked Tang 9-11 9-11 6-11 12-10 11-4 in the second match of the group stages following his hard-fought win over William Henzell of Australia earlier in the day.
Sharath, ranked 51 in the world, had to top the group to make it into the second stage of the elite competition.
In the first match of the qualifying stage, Sharath made a remarkable comeback after being three games down to notch up a 12-14 10-12 9-11 11-6 11-8 11-3 12-10 win over world No. 133 Henzell.
In the opening game, Sharath established a 10-6 lead, but the Aussie had other ideas as he replied to every return by the Indian with equal finesse and settled into a comfort zone.
Henzell stole the game and then proceeded to capture the next two with an effective forehand.
Trailing 0-3, the 31-year-old mounted a recovery, winning the next three games with relative ease.
In the decider, Sharath sped to 6-0 lead and looked set for an easing win before he was caught by Henzell at 6-6. But Sharath staved off further resistance and clinched the encounter.
