Sharath and Sutirtha book Olympic berths

Sharath Kamal became the first Indian paddler to book a spot at the Tokyo Olympics after he defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Rameez 11-4, 11-1, 11-5, 11-4 in the second men’s singles round-robin match at the Asian Olympic qualification event in Doha on Thursday.

Sharath, who had lost to G. Sathiyan 9-11, 13-15, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11 in the opening match, took just 22 minutes to beat Rameez. It will be Sharath’s fourth appearance at the quadrennial extravaganza. Sutirtha Mukherjee booked a singles berth with a 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 11-4 win over top-ranked Manika Batra. It will be her first Olympic appearance.