(by Steve Hopkins)
USA’s Kanak Jha has been busy, and the hard work is paying off. Jha’s list of accomplishments include winning the US Open, and most recently a Top 16 finish at the Singapore Smash. Jha has been consistently logging success after success in the German league. He is 10-3 in total matches against great international competition as he helps to anchor TC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Jha’s total number of points puts him behind Ovtcharov, Kallberg, Togami, and Qiu – and ahead of big names including Calderano, Franziska, and Gerassimenko. In his team’s most recent win over a strong RhonSprudel Fuda-Maberzell squad, Duda defeated Ovtcharov, Jha defeated Fan Bo Meng, and Adrien Rassenfosse defeated Cheng-Jui Kao. Even with the 3-0 win, Schwalbe Bergneustadt is seeded eighth in the league (with a losing record), but that does not diminish the successes of Jha.
In the latest World Rankings, Jha has moved up 12 spots on the strength of his Singapore Smash results and he is now No. 44 in the World Rankings. This spot places him as the top player in North America and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere (behind Hugo Calderano).
What’s next for Jha? He will be one of the top seeds in the upcoming Pan American Cup which starts this week in San Francisco. Jha will have the benefit of playing in his home country along with Nandan Naresh. The other fourteen players in the main draw will include Cifuentes and Lorenzo of Argentina, Ishiy and Jouti of Brazil, Ly and Wang of Canada, Camps and Perez of Cuba, Mino from Ecuador, Moscoso from Guatemalia, Castro and Madrid from Mexico, and Afanador and Gonzalez of Puerto Rico.
Check in later this week as we provide updates from San Francisco. Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.
