Achanta Sharath Kamal put on a strategic masterclass to beat World No. 34 Nicholas Lum of Australia 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-9) and reach the round of 16 at the WTT Star Contender Chennai, the last event of his professional career, on Friday.
Barely 14 hours after his first-round win over compatriot and qualifier Anirban Ghosh, the 42-year-old Sharath was back on the show court at the Nehru Indoor Stadium. Cheered by 300-odd spectators, World No. 92 Sharath notched up another straight-games victory. However, this one was even more impressive as it came against left-handed Lum, a talented 19-year-old who recently won the Oceania Cup.
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Sharath, a five-time Olympian, used his experience to outwit Lum. He slowed down the pace of his returns to make it uncomfortable for the Australian. The first instance of that strategy working for the Indian came when Lum completely missed the ball while going for a forehand loop from way behind the table at 4-4 in the opening game.
The Australian was then up 8-6 before he pushed one long to a short and slow return from Sharath. The Indian won his third straight point and took a 9-8 lead when he pushed Lum back and attacked with consistent forehand smashes, eventually drawing one looped return from the Australian which missed the table. With the momentum on his side, Sharath grabbed the next two points to close the opener.
The second game too was a close affair and yet again, Sharath came from behind to clinch it. Leading 8-7, Lum hit a deep backhand return but Sharath ran around the forehand before unleashing one smash down the line. Sharath took a two-games-to-love lead as he hit an angled backhand with lots of sidespin and Lum could only net the forehand loop in response.
In the third game, Sharath redirected the pace generated by Lum’s shot and at times, even wrongfooted him. Trailing 5-2, Lum used his timeout to break Sharath’s rhythm but it seemed to have worked against him as the Indian increased his advantage to 9-4.
Showing signs of nervousness for the first time in two days, Sharath misread the spin on Lum’s serve a couple of times but he finally converted his fourth match point with a backhand loop winner down the line.
Sharath, who is into the round of 16 of an event for the first time since last year’s WTT Contender event in Tunis, next faces compatriot and doubles partner Snehit Suravajjula who stunned seventh-seeded Japanese Yukiya Uda.
However, Sharath and Snehit’s campaign ended in doubles as they went down 1-3 (11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 6-11) to third-seeded Korean duo of Lim Jonghoon and An Jaehyun in the semifinals.
Earlier, Sharath and Snehit saved two match points to upset second seeds and compatriots Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 14-12) in the quarterfinals.
Sharath Kamal vs Nicholas Lum: Their match in numbers
| Sharath Kamal | Category | Nicholas Lum |
| 33 | Points won | 25 |
| 16 | Points won on own serve | 12 |
| 17 | Points won on opponent serve | 13 |
| 5 | Biggest lead | 2 |
| 5 | Most consecutive won | 3 |
| 2 | Greatest deficit overcome | — |