Sathiyan, Manika power Smashers to UTT title
Sunday - July 1, 2018 11:50 pm ,
Category : SPORTS
Kolkata July 1 (IANS) India s golden girl Manika Batra and country s highest-ranked men s player G. Sathiyan stamped their class on the Ultimate Table Tennis championship annexing the title for Dabang Smashers here at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Manika and Sathiyan s power-packed performance helped the Smashers topple defending champions Falcons TTC 11-7 and also pocket a whopping Rs 1 crore in front of a delirious full house.
Riding on a brilliant start that saw the Smashers jump to a solid 7-2 lead after just three matches captain Sathiyan recorded a thumping 2-1 victory over Alvaro Robles to bring the contest to a premature end.
Sathiyan won the first set handsomely and led 5-0 in the second. But Spain s Robles pulled back to draw level and make it 1-1. World No 44 Sathiyan however had the last laugh winning the third and the crucial 11th game point to seal the victory for the Smashers.
Earlier 23-year-old Manika led the charge downing World No 30 Matilda Ekholm 3-0 (11-8 11-10 11-9) for another winning start for the Smashers. The 2018 Commonwealth Games double-gold medallist dominated her Swedish opponent claiming points with a series of blistering smashes.
Manika picked up the Indian player of the league award for her outstanding performance through the season. She won 5 matches and lost 2.
World No 27 Yoshida Masaki extended Smashers lead with a 2-1 victory over Sanil Shetty. Masaki exhibited great technique and control to claim the first two sets 11-8 11-8. But Shetty went back for broke and claimed the last set to corner one vital point.
Sathiyan and Sakura Mori promptly paired up to pick 2 more game points getting the better of Sanil Shetty and Bernadette Szocs in the mixed doubles clash.
Falcons captain and last year s MVP Liam Pitchford brought his side back to life beating Belgium s Cedric Nuytinck 2-1 in an exhilarating contest. He however yielded a vital point losing the second set 5-11 which proved critical in the end.
Romania s Szocs who has quietly been winning matches for Falcons then overcame young Adriana Diaz to narrow the lead. But the 17-year-old Puerto Rican also pulled one point in the third set to prepare the stage for captain Sathiyan.
--IANS dm/vd
Manika and Sathiyan s power-packed performance helped the Smashers topple defending champions Falcons TTC 11-7 and also pocket a whopping Rs 1 crore in front of a delirious full house.
Riding on a brilliant start that saw the Smashers jump to a solid 7-2 lead after just three matches captain Sathiyan recorded a thumping 2-1 victory over Alvaro Robles to bring the contest to a premature end.
Sathiyan won the first set handsomely and led 5-0 in the second. But Spain s Robles pulled back to draw level and make it 1-1. World No 44 Sathiyan however had the last laugh winning the third and the crucial 11th game point to seal the victory for the Smashers.
Earlier 23-year-old Manika led the charge downing World No 30 Matilda Ekholm 3-0 (11-8 11-10 11-9) for another winning start for the Smashers. The 2018 Commonwealth Games double-gold medallist dominated her Swedish opponent claiming points with a series of blistering smashes.
Manika picked up the Indian player of the league award for her outstanding performance through the season. She won 5 matches and lost 2.
World No 27 Yoshida Masaki extended Smashers lead with a 2-1 victory over Sanil Shetty. Masaki exhibited great technique and control to claim the first two sets 11-8 11-8. But Shetty went back for broke and claimed the last set to corner one vital point.
Sathiyan and Sakura Mori promptly paired up to pick 2 more game points getting the better of Sanil Shetty and Bernadette Szocs in the mixed doubles clash.
Falcons captain and last year s MVP Liam Pitchford brought his side back to life beating Belgium s Cedric Nuytinck 2-1 in an exhilarating contest. He however yielded a vital point losing the second set 5-11 which proved critical in the end.
Romania s Szocs who has quietly been winning matches for Falcons then overcame young Adriana Diaz to narrow the lead. But the 17-year-old Puerto Rican also pulled one point in the third set to prepare the stage for captain Sathiyan.
--IANS dm/vd
