The Hindu : Sport / Olympic Games : Indians hoping to clear first hurdle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 14, 2004

Sport

Sport - Olympic Games

Indians hoping to clear first hurdle

ATHENS, AUG. 13. The two Indian paddlers — Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das — will face the stiff task of overcoming the first hurdle when the Olympic table tennis events begin at the Galatsi Hall here on Saturday.

Mouma begins her campaign with a match against Nanthana Komwong of Thailand in the first round, while Sharath will test his skills against Mohammad Boudjadja of Algeria in the men's singles.

The 20-year-old Mouma, currently ranked 175 in the world, has the ability to spring a surprise but it remains to be seen if the Kolkata girl can make much of an impact in the opening round in an event where India has no medal aspirations.

However, the baby-faced paddler appeared upbeat saying, ``Olympics is a tough competition but I am confident that I can cross the first round at least.''

Mouma gained entry into the Olympics by defeating a Chinese girl at the Beijing qualifiers to finish tenth and she would need a similar performance tomorrow if she hopes to make it to the second round.

She had paired with Poulomi Ghatak to win a bronze in the team event and doubles of the Commonwealth championship in Kuala Lumpur in June this year.

National champion Sharath, who is ranked 171 in the world, has some impressive performances at the international level but to be able to make a mark at the Olympics would be a different proposition altogether.

Sharath had a good outing at the Qatar World championship where he won five of his six matches.

He bagged a double in the Commonwealth table tennis championships in Kuala Lumpur, winning the team and men's singles honour. — PTI

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