Commonwealth Games 2018, Gold Coast: Sharath-Sathiyan advance in men's doubles Table Tennis

Gold Coast: India's Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran entered the round of 16 in men's doubles table tennis competition of the 21st Commonwealth Games after thrashing Kiribati duo Tauramoa Miita and Nooa Takooa 3-0 here on Wednesday.

The Indian duo had no problems in dealing with the inexperienced Kiribati pair, comfortably clinching the affair 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 in the round of 32.

Later in the day, the other men's doubles pair of Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shankar Shetty will take on Guyana's Shemar Britton and Christopher Franklin for a place in the round of 16.

In other events, Indian shooter Om Prakash Mitherval on Wednesday finished third to settle for a bronze medal in men's 50m Pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Australia's Gold Coast.

Om registered a score of 201.1 in the final. Daniel Repacholi of Australia took the gold with a new CWG record of 227.2. Shakil Ahmed of Bangladesh took silver with 220.5.

Defending champion Jitu Rai, the other Indian in the fray, had a disappointing outing.

The reigning Asian Games champion registered a decidedly below par 105 to finish at the bottom of the eight-man final.

With this victory, India now has a total of 22 medals (11. 4, 7). 

Meanwhile, veteran Indian star MC Mary Kom defeated Anusha Dilruksh of Sri Lanka to enter the final of the women's 48 kilogram category at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Wednesday.

Mary's experience and superior technique stood her in good stead as she carved out a unanimous 5:0 verdict against the veteran Sri Lankan fighter.

The 39-year-old Anusha gave a good account of herself against the five-time world champion Indian before falling short in the end.

Both boxers were a bit cautious in the opening round, trying to gauge each other although Mary managed to land several punches.

Although the Lankan had the height and reach advantage, Mary used a low guard and used her reflexes and feet movement to take the advantage.

Both boxers were equally matched in the second round before the tempo picked up in the third as Mary picked up the points with a steady barrage of punches.

(With IANS inputs)