Soumyajit,Ankita bag Olympic berths

Soumyajit Ghosh and Ankita Das became the youngest Indian paddlers to book Olympic tickets,courtesy the South Asian regional quota,when the 19-year-olds,both from Siliguri,beat compatriots Anthony Amalraj and Kumaresan Shamini at the Asian Olympic Qualification tournament in Hong Kong on Sunday. Senior pro Achanta Sharath Kamal failed to seal his spot,although he still has a chance to make it to a third successive Olympics at the World Qualification championship in Doha (May 10-13).

While Ghosh beat reigning national champion Amalraj 3-1 (10-12 11-9 11-6 11-7) in a one-sided game,Ankita had to face stiff resistance from Shamini before clinching the final qualifying spot 4-3 (8-11 11-3 11-8 11-13 11-9 9-11 11-8).

Sharath Kamal misses out

Ghosh,the first Indian to win the world junior circuit title in 2010,lost to Song Man Jang of North Korea 5-11 11-9 6-11 12-10 6-11 4-11 but came back strongly against Vietnam’s Tran Tuan Quynh to win 11-5 11-5 11-0 11-0. Against Amalraj,he played an attacking game all through to prove his dominance. Kamal went down 1-4 (9-11 9-11 7-11 11-2 11-8 ) to Chih-Chi Wu of Taipei,before losing 3-4 to Amalraj in over 90 minutes.

Against Shamini,Ankita played with great confidence despite losing the first game 8-11. She took the next two 11-3 11-8,was stretched in the fourth losing 11-13 but played impeccable shots in the crucial seventh game to win 11-8 and seal the match.