Sathiyan-Sharath come from behind to claim upset win at WTT Singapore Smash

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal of India came from behind to claim an upset win in their Men’s Doubles Round of 32 match at the WTT Singapore Smash on Sunday.

They beat Lin Yin-Ju (a medalist at the World Championships as well as the Tokyo Olympics) and Liao Cheng-ting of Taiwan. Lin is currently ranked 7th in the world in men’s singles.

The Indian pair came back from a 1-2 deficit to win the match 3-2. The fifth and final game saw Sathiyan and Sharath racing to a 11-6 lead to win the match 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6.

They will next face the second Seeded Korean pair in the Round of 16 matches.

Sathiyan was earlier the Lone Indian to progress in singles at the WTT Singapore Smash when he defeated Pang Yew En Koe of Singapore in the first round on Saturday. Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra and Ayhika Mukherjee were all eliminated.

Sathiyan is also set to be part of the mixed doubles event, where he is scheduled to partner with Manika Batra in a Round of 16 matches later on Sunday.