New Delhi: Ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal on Thursday surpassed compatriot Gnanasekaran Sathiyan to become the highest ranked Indian in the latest ITTF world rankings, jumping seven spots to reach 31.It comes after Sharath's victory at the Oman Open last month, when he won his first ITTF title in 10 years.
''Some positive news, amidst all the negativity currently (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Feels great actually. Just the news I needed while I find myself away from the game during this lockdown," an elated Sharath said.
Meanwhile, his younger teammate Sathiyan dropped a place to be 32.After the good performance in the recent events, Dani took a jump of nine places to claim the 200th position while Harmeet Desai (72), Anthony Amalraj (100) and Manav Thakkar (139) are the other Indian men paddlers who have positioned themselves in the first 200.
In the senior women's rankings, Manika Batra is at 63rd position while Sutirtha Mukharjee at 95th, breaking into the top 100.The ITTF rankings will now be frozen until the start of events. ITTF has already suspended all its events until June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.(UNI)