In February, Killerspin’s Sharath Kamal Achanta impressed when the ITTF Pro Tour visited the Middle East; at the Qatar Open and the Salwa Cup Kuwait Open he played at a new level.
The result was that in March, he was rewarded when the ITTF Men’s World Rankings were published; he climbed from no.70 to no.55; at the time it was the highest position of his career.
Undoubtedly, the efforts in the Middle East gave the Killerspin star a new confidence; a top 100 world ranking for an Indian player is a major achievement; beyond the top 50 is unchartered territory.
Building on the new found confidence, Sharath Kamal Achanta excelled expectations in July to enjoy arguably the most successful month of his table tennis life.
On Sunday 4th July he won the Men’s Singles title at the United States Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then the following week he succeeded on the ITTF Pro Tour at the Egyptian Open in Cairo.
In the Egyptian capital he became the first Indian player to win an ITTF Pro Tour Men’s Singles title and when the International Table Tennis Federation issued the World Rankings on Thursday 5th August 2010, a new career high was posted.
The 28 year old Indian progressed from the no.76 spot he held in July to s quite stunning no.39 place.
It is a ranking no other Indian player has ever achieved in modern times; sharath Kamal Achanta has not only taken his career to new heights, he has taken Indian table tennis to new heights.
A higher world ranking for Sharath Kamal Achanta and there is also a higher world ranking for another Killerspin star on the August list.
Hungary’s Georgina Pota cemented her top 50 place; she climbs one place to no.44, just one place behind her best ever world ranking which was no.43 in February 2008.
