iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Kanak Jha, the Indian American table tennis player, recorded the best performance for an American male athlete in the sport after he reached the round of 16. Jha’s advancement to the round pre-quarter finals at the ongoing Paris Olympic games bettered Jimmy Butler’s record.
Butler had reached the round of 32 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Jha defeated Panagiotis Gionis of Greece 4-2 on Wednesday, July 31.
“We’re just taking one match at a time, and not thinking about the first ever or whatever,” U.S. men’s team coach Mark Hazinski was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Jha, 24, is the 120th ranked player in the world. As per reports, he prepared for the Paris Olympic games with help from GoFundMe.
The 24-year-old termed his match as “very tough”.
The Indian American’s run, however, was limited to the round of 16, as he lost 4-0 to China’s Fan Zhendong.
