Sharath, Amalraj, Poulomi enter knock-outs of Olympic qualifiers

Indian paddlers Sharath Kamal, Anthony Amalraj and Poulomi Ghatak entered the knock-out stage at the World Olympic Qualification Championships in Doha on Friday.

Sharath defeated Kirill Gerassimenkno of Kazakhstan 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 to top Group 7 while Amalraj came second in Group 2 after losing to Wu Chi Chi. The Chinese Taipei player beat the Indian 5-11, 18-16, 11-6, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 to top the group. Top two from each group made the next stage.

Earlier, Poulomi Ghatak, who caused an upset when she beat Russia's fifth seed Oxana Fadeeva here on Thursday, lost 12-10, 10-12, 8-11, 6-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-7 to World No. 121 Elena Timina of The Netherlands in a tough battle.

The veteran however made the main draw, finishing second behind Fadeeva in her group.

Poulomi's loss to Timina also meant that the Indian did not get a bye in the main draw. She will have to beat Chia-Hui lin of Taipei in a round of 32 match later.

"I made some crucial errors in my last group match and I have learnt from those mistakes. I am determined not to repeat them," she said.