Sharath Kamal in quarterfinals in table tennis

Ranchi: Indian table tennis ace Achanta Sharath Kamal remained on course for his first National Games

title as he sailed into the quarterfinals on a day that saw smooth sailing for the top players here on Thursday. Having missed out on a team gold, Bengal recovered from yesterday`s debacle as they fared well in the singles prequarterfinals with four players each in the men`s and women`s sections earning their last eight berths. National champion Kumaresan Shamini also won her match against Prajakta Tipale Maharashtra 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8) to set up a last eight match against Susmita Ray of Bengal. Susmita quelled the challenge of Pune girl Ashlesha Bodas 4-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-6, 14-12) in the last 16. Bengal stalwart and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mouma Das, who was erratic yesterday picking yellow and red cards, was at her best today as she thrashed Swetha Kumaravel of Tamil Nadu 4-0 (11-4, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7) to storm into quarterfinals. Soumi Mondal of Bengal got the better of Tamil Nadu girl N Sathyabhama 4-1 (11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9) while Maharashtra veteran Mamta Prabhu beat Ankita Das of Bengal 4-2 (4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7, 12-14, 11-9). Maharashtra`s Madhurika Patkar faced a strong challenge from Bengal girl Pallavi Kundu before wrapping the issue 4-2 (11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9) in the last 16. Nandita Saha became the fourth Bengal girl to enter last eight with a hard fought win over T Reeeth Rishya of Tamil Nadu 4-3 (11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 10-12, 9-11, 11-7). Pooja Sahasrabudhe of Maharashtra beat Vishakha Vijay of Rajasthan 4-1 (11-5, 11-3, 13-11, 8-11, 11-6) in another pre-quarterfinal match. Yet to win a title in the National Games, Sharath Kamal recovered a first set deficit against Vinay Baiswade of Chhattisgarh as he wrapped up the issue 4-2 (7-11, 10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5) to set up a last eight battle with Souvik Basu Roy of Bengal. Souvik Basu Roy struggled pas Rajiv Ghai of Haryana 4-3 (7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 11-5). In another last-16 match, G Vinod of Tamil Nadu ousted Sourav Saha of Bengal 4-2 (5-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7) while Raj Mondal of Bengal thrashed Gujarat`s Pathik Mehta 4-0 (11-5, 11-7, 12-10, 12-10). Bengal`s Sourav Chakraborty routed E Prabhakaran of Tamil Nadu 4-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7) while Harmeet Desai of Gujarat thrashed Sayan Paul Roy of Bengal 4-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-9, 11-3). PTI