Veteran Kamal suffered an initial defeat to compatriot Gnansekaran Sathiyan 9-11, 13-15, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11 in the opening match of the group. However, he looked in complete control against Rameez as he took just over 22 minutes to wrap up the game 11-4, 11-1, 11-5, 11-4 comfortably and seal the Olympic berth with at least a second-place finish in the group, and by virtue of being the highest-ranked paddler in the event.Sathiyan, too, is now just one win away from joining Kamal in qualifying for the Tokyo Games as he takes on Rameez in the final round-robin South Asian group game later on Thursday night.
“It was a good match against Sathiyan but I made some errors and he capitalised on them to win the match. I was a bit nervous before playing against Rameez as I had never faced him before. But after the first few games I was confident that my strategy was working and I executed it well to maintain control,” world No. 32 Kamal said after qualifying.
Kamal, 38, had been in…