Indian table tennis great Achanta Sharath Kamal rolled back the years with a straight-game win over 10th seed Nicholas Lum of Australia at the WTT Star Contender tournament in Chennai on Friday.

Sharath, playing in his farewell event, led three more Indians into the Round of 16 after Manav Thakkar and Snehit Suravajjula progressed in men’s singles while Krittwika Roy advanced in women’s singles.

Playing against an opponent 23 years younger than him, the five-time Olympian Sharath took the first two games by identical 11-8 scorelines.

Unleashing devastating finishers with both his forehand and backhand, Sharath opened a five-point lead in the third game, before finishing Lum off with a scintillating down-the-line backhand smash.

The 42-year-old Indian will play his usual men’s doubles partner Snehit in the Round of 16 on Saturday, after the youngster came from two games down to stage a remarkable comeback win against seventh seed Yukiya Uda of Japan.

Earlier in the day, Manav Thakkar kept his hopes of silverware alive with a confident win against eleventh seed Finn Luu in men’s singles.

Thakkar and Luu exchanged games early, but the former gained the upper hand in the third game and retained his lead until the end for a 3-1 win.

In the women’s singles, Indian wildcard Krittwika pulled off a thrilling victory over 10th seed Sreeja Akula in the Round of 32, emerging triumphant in a five-game battle 3-2 to book her spot in the next round.

Elsewhere, Tomokazu Harimoto, Hugo Calderano, Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto advanced to the Round of 16.

Harimoto overcame Maharu Yoshimura in a hard-fought match, while Calderano battled back to beat Ho Kwan Kit 3-1. Hina Hayata dispatched Li Yu-Jhun 3-0, and Miwa Harimoto earned a straightforward win over Yeh Yi-Tian.

The men’s doubles semifinals saw top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima edge past Wong Chun Ting and Chan Baldwin in a five-game thriller, winning 3-2.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic’s Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun defeated India’s wildcard duo Sharath and Snehit 3-1.

In women’s doubles, Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara ousted top seeds Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi 3-0, while Korea Republic’s Shin Yu-bin and Ryu Hanna advanced with a 3-0 win over Joo Cheonhui and Miyu Nagasaki. 

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