Sharath off to a flying start; Sathiyan out

DOHA: Ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal advanced to the second round of the World Table Tennis Contender series with a hard fought 3-2 win over Czech Republic's Pavel Sirucek here on Wednesday. Sharath toiled hard before defeating Sirucek 17-15 9-11 11-6 8-11 11-9 in the first round. However, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who alongside Sharath secured a direct entr y into the main draw, made a first round exit af ter going down to world no 20 Aruna Quadri 7-11 4-11 8-11.