Muscat, March 13 Indian paddler Mudit Dani registered a 4-0 win to begin his campaign on a high note at the 2020 ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open here on Friday.
Dani looked dominating during his convincing 11-6, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 victory against Oman's Asad Alraisi in the men's singles round-of-64 match. He will now face Portugal's Marcos Freitas in the round-of-32. Another Indian player Manush Shah also made his way into the round-of-32 with a 4-1 win. Shah made a comeback into the match following an opening set setback to complete a 12-10, 11-1, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 win against Oman's Muhannad Al Balushi. Shah will now face a tough challenge from compatriot Achanta Sharath Kamal, who received a bye, in the next round. Apart from Sharath, Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai received a bye in the opening round.
Meanwhile other Indian paddlers Sanil Shetty, Jeet Chandra, Anirban Ghosh and Suravajjula Snehit suffered defeats during their respective men's singles opening round matches. Shetty produced a gritty performance during a seven-set thrilling match which saw the Indian going down 4-3 against Singapore's Yew En Koen Pang.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifications in mind the elite Indian players will look to improve their rankings and aim for seedings with an impressive performance here. A total of 19 Indian paddlers, including nine men and 10 women, will be competing in the individual events at the ongoing Oman Open which will conclude on Sunday.
( With inputs from IANS )