Sharath Kamal struggled in the first game but pulled himself up just in time to beat Portugal's Tiago Polonia 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 49 minutes.
Kamal had lifted the Oman Open last month and took a leap of seven spots in the latest senior men's rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to grab the 31st position.
A look at how India's athletes fared at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Indian men's and women's team scripted history by clinching the gold medals at the World Table Tennis Team Championship with superb victories over Luxemburg and Brazil respectively in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Indian eves beat Luxemburg 3-1 in the event final of the Second Division, while their male counterparts overcame a stiff Brazil 3-2. India had sealed their entry in the Champions Division last night after reaching the finals. Incidentally, this was the first time ever that the women's team kept a clean slate -- eight wins -- in the first and the second stages. The men, on the other hand, bounced back after losing their only group match against Nigeria to achieve the exceptional honours.
Sathiyan rose four spots to be placed 24th in the latest ITTF rankings, following his impressive sixth place finish in the Asia Cup in Yokohama earlier this month. Last week, he was the sole Indian to reach the round of 32 in the World Championships in Hungary.
The reigning world champion duo of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi gasped in surprise seeing the backhand return of Ayhika Mukherjee, who, in part, engineered India's biggest triumph of the Asian Games thus far.
His greatness is undisputed but probably has not been appreciated enough over the past two decades. Manika Batra had pushed the sport into spotlight with her four medal showing in Gold Coast four years ago and Sharath hopes his performances leads to millions of kids playing the game.
Six medals from a 117-strong contingent is not ideal but India had its moments of joy, hope, frustration, and heartache.
India's top sprinter Hima Das, who had a stellar 2018, has been nominated for the prestigious Khel Ratna by the state government of Assam. The 20-year-old from Dhing village in Assam is one of the youngest nominees for Khel Ratna this year.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
It was largely made possible by Manika Batra, who ended up winning four medals, the most by an Indian in Gold Coast.
Badminton legend Prakash Padukone was bestowed with the Lifetime achievement award at the Sportstar Aces awards function in Mumbai.
Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the para sports category.
This was due to the fact that they had already won the Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour.
Sharath along with G Sathiyan has been handed a tough draw in the men's singles competition.
Mary Kom won the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2006.
Check out India's schedule on Day 9 of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Friday.
A summary of Indian athletes' performance on Day 7 of the Games.
Star paddler Sharath Kamal continued his sensational run to reach the finals of both the men's doubles and mixed doubles events and assure India of at least two more medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmimgham on Saturday.
Women formed the core of India's stupendous day four at the 21st Commonwealth Games where a 16-year-old Manu Bhaker delivered a record-shattering shooting gold medal and the table tennis team shocked fancied defending champions Singapore to clinch the top honours for the first time in the event.
India's leading table tennis player Harmeet Desai feels he has been "unfairly" left out of the singles competition for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.
D Vishwa was part of the Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA) State men's team who were on their way to take part in the 83rd Senior National and Inter-State table tennis championships to be held in Meghalaya, Shillong.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Thursday, September 28.
Third seeds China won the junior girls' title with an upset victory over India 'A', while top seeds India 'A' won the junior boys' crown, in the US $8000 Reliance India Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis Championships, at the NSCI-Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
Indian paddlers continued their impressive run as they outshone Malaysia to cruise into the semifinals of both men's and women' team events on day three of competitions in the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
Check out India's schedule on Day 7 of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Wednesday.
In the first singles, Sharath went down 7-11, 14-12, 3-11,9-11 against Clarence.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Aiming to put the spotlight on athletes and energise fans to motivate them to be at their best, the 50-year-old star has started a campaign to introduce the players with a tweet.
Results of the Indian athletes on Day 1 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Ace paddler Sharath Kamal, who clinched a historic mixed doubles bronze with Manika Batra at the Asian Games last year, feels the road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics seems difficult in the newly-introduced category, but once the spot is booked, a medal win is possible.
The Indian paddler fought tooth and nail to take the second game from Long but eventually lost 7-11, 11-8, 11-13, 4-11, 4-11 in 46 minutes.
Sharath Kamal's progress to the third round of the men's singles in table tennis was the only bright spot on another gloomy day for India at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday, September 30.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Following is the schedule of the Indian contingent on the 12th day of the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday.
Tennis ace Rohan Bopanna, hockey great P R Sreejesh and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, are gearing up for one last hurrah at the Asian Games, starting in Hangzhou, from September 23.
Indian paddler G Sathiyan has qualified for his maiden Summer Games with a comfortable 4-0 win over Pakistan's Muhammad Rameez in the Asian Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Doha.
Ace Indian sprinter Dutee Chand said the Arjuna Award will motivate her to win a prestigious Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games next year.
Heptathlete Swapna Barman added a dash of heroism to her historic gold medal
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