Stunning show: Ayhika downed World No. 13 Szocs 11-7, 11-5, 11-6.
| Photo Credit: RAGU R
CHENNAI:
Puneri Paltan and Bengaluru Smashers couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Ultimate Table Tennis League campaigns, as they scripted convincing wins over Ahmedabad SG Pipers and Chennai Lions respectively here on Friday.
Helped largely by Ayhika Mukherjee and Ankur Bhattacharjee, Paltan scripted a 10-5 win over the debutant Pipers. Later, Smashers scored a dominant 11-4 victory over the Chennai outfit.
Ayhika and 17-year-old Ankur won their respective singles matches with clear 3-0 margins that helped Paltan close out the tie in the fourth rubber itself.
Using short-pimpled rubber on the forehand and anti-spin on the backhand, Ayhika flummoxed Bernadette Szocs, ranked 13 in the world, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-6. Paltan’s Joao Monteiro was outplayed by lower-ranked Manush Shah in the opening men’s singles contest. Pipers fought back through their mixed doubles pair of Manush and Bernadette, who put it across Joao and Ayhika.
Ankur showed why he is highly rated by one and all. In the fourth rubber, the teenager was aggressive throughout and outplayed Lilian Bardet 11-8, 11-5, 11-8. Lilian is world-ranked 90, a good 110 places above Ankur.
Smashers were ruthless as they won the first three matches against Lions. Alvaro Robles defeated Jules Rolland while Lily Zhang pulled off a hard-fought win over reigning National champion Poymantee Baisya. In the third match, the mixed doubles pair of Amalraj and Lily overcame the Chennai duo of Sharath Kamal and Sakura Mori 3-0. By now, the Bengaluru outfit had established a firm grip on the proceedings. It needed just one more point from the remaining two. Smashers’s Jeet Chandra trounced Sharath 3-0 in the fourth match before Lions’ Sakura Mori upset Manika Batra for a morale-boosting win.
The results: Puneri Paltan bt Ahmedabad SG Pipers 10-5 (Joao Monteiro lost to Manush Shah 11-5, 7-11, 6-11; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Bernadette Szocs 11-7, 11-5, 11-6; Monteiro & Ayhika lost to Manush & Szocs 11-7, 3-11, 7-11; Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Lilian Bardet 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Natalia Bajor bt Reeth Rishya 7-11, 11-8, 11-5).
Bengaluru Smashers bt Chennai Lions 11-4 (Alvaro Robles bt Jules Rolland 11-8, 8-11, 11-6; Lily Zhang bt Poymantee Baisya 9-11, 11-8, 11-3; A. Amalraj & Zhang bt Sharath Kamal & Sakura Mori 11-10, 11-9, 11-8; Jeet Chandra bt Sharath Kamal 11-6, 11-10, 11-9; Manika Batra lost to Sakura 11-5, 5-11, 10-11).
