Sathiyan, Manika register thrilling wins in UTT league
The pair of Manika and Krill played with supreme coordination and took the first game 11-4. They were at their imperious best in the second game as well as they won it 11-6 before losing the third by 6-11.
G Sathiyan lets out a roar after winning the match
PUNE: Star Indian paddlers Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra notched-up thrilling victories in their respective matches in the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune on Tuesday.
Sathiyan began the tie for Dabang Delhi TTC on a winning note as he defeated Bengaluru Smashers’ Kirill Gerassimenko 2-1 to gain two valuable team points. On the other hand, Manika, alongside Kirill Gerassimenko beat Sathiyan and Barbora Balazova by 2-1 to bring the Smashers back into the tie.
The pair of Manika and Krill played with supreme coordination and took the first game 11-4. They were at their imperious best in the second game as well as they won it 11-6 before losing the third by 6-11.
Earlier, Sathiyan went into the attacking mode from the first serve and used his ferocious forehands to good effect to take the opening game by 11-6. Kirill made a strong comeback in the second game as he won it by 11-4 with his precise returns and quick forehands which put Sathiyan in trouble in the following game as well.
However, the Asian Games bronze medallist came from behind to earn a fantastic 11-9 victory over his opponent.
Meanwhile, Ayhika Mukherjee also looked confident against World No. 42 Natalia Bajor in the second match (women’s singles) of the tie and registered a 2-1 win to extend the lead of Dabang Delhi TTC.
The World No. 135 was magnificently accurate with her backhands against Natalia and took the first game by 11-7 before using the same strategy in the second game. Ayhika also brought her swift moments into the play and won the second game by 11-6. However, she lost the third game by 7-11 as Natalia kept Bengaluru Smashers in the tie.