Sharath Kamal beats Tiago Apolonia advances to 3rd round to face Ma Long next

The 39-year-old Sharath struggled in the first game but pulled himself up just in time to win 2-11 11-8 11-5 9-11 11-6 11-9 in the 49-minute second-round contest, but he put behind the disappointment of mixed doubles to start his singles campaign on a high on Monday. He will face reigning Olympic champion Ma Long in Round 3.

Veteran Indian table tennis player A Sharath Kamal overcame a sluggish start to beat Portugal's Tiago Polonia in the men's singles second round but Sutirtha Mukherjee was overwhelmed by Portugal's Yu Fu in the Olympics, here on Monday.

Sutirtha, who showed remarkable grit for a come-from-behind win over Sweden's Linda Bergstrom, looked completely off-color to lose 3-11 3-11 5-11 5-11 in a 23-minute affair against the world number 55. The Indian paddler now has a tough match ahead as he takes on the legendary Long, who is also the reigning world champion. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Long has won every singles title in the sport.

Sharath's compatriot G Sathiyan had lost his men's singles second round from an advantageous position on Sunday to exit the competition.