Eon jihee

World Table Tennis: Young Indian paddler Archana Kamath pulled off a stunning victory over Portugal's World No. 53 Jieni Shao to move into the women's singles pre-quarterfinals in the ongoing World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Goa 2024 at the Peddem Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

The 23-year-old from Bengaluru, who is currently ranked 134th in the world, had a slow start to the Round Of 32 match as she lost the first game against the higher-ranked and experienced opponent Shao. However, Kamath made a remarkable comeback, winning the next two games before clinching the match by 3-2 (9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5) to progress into the next round of the tournament.

"It was a very intense match, and my opponent was someone who didn't leave the match until it was over. I am very happy that I won the match. She (Shao) used a lot of side spin and up spin during the match and was changing her positions as well which made the match a little tricky, but I am glad that I managed that and registered a win," stated Kamath after winning the contest.