Sharath trumps Harmeet as Chennai Lions thrash Goa Challengers

PUNE: Veteran Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal produced a scintillating performance to overcome the country's top-ranked men's singles player Harmeet Desai as Chennai Lions beat Goa Challengers 11-4 in the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Saturday.

It was an end-to-end battle between both the Indian paddlers from the start of the match as the crowd was treated to some top-class table tennis action. The first game went in the favour of Sharath Kamal 11-9, as he countered Harmeet's aggression with calm precision.

The 13-time Commonwealth Games medallist carried forward the momentum as he took the second game 11-9 to secure the eighth winning point for his franchise. Sharath won the third game 11-8.

In the final match of the tie, Yangzi Liu beat T. Reeth Rishya 2-1 to complete a stunning victory for the defending champions.

The franchise-based league, promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), has been a game-changer for Indian table tennis since its inception in 2017.

Earlier, Benedikt Duda of Chennai Lions played a thriller against Alvaro Robles and won 2-1 in the first match of the tie. The World No.33 began the game on a positive note and played some powerful forehands to take the first game 11-5 before the Goa Challengers paddler made a comeback with his precise shots and won it 11-8 to turn the match into an exciting contest.

The third game was a close one which went in the favour of Duda 11-7.

In the second match of the tie, World No.39 Suthasini Sawettabut of Goa Challenger defeated Sutirtha Mukherjee 2-1.

The Indian paddler, who lost her last two matches in the league, was on top of her game at the start and took some early points to put Suthasini in trouble. Sutirtha was quick to react to the ferocious forehands of the Thai paddler to win the first game 11-8.

The second game also saw a tough battle between both players as they threw some precise backhands to get into the lead. In the end, the game went in the favour of Suthasini through a game point.

Sutirtha came to the table with a positive mentality in the third game as she took an early 4-1 lead before the Goa Challengers paddler came roaring back and took a 5-4 lead with the use of powerful forehand shots. She then won the game 11-6 to clinch the victory in the match.

Sharath Kamal and Yangzi Liu beat Harmeet and Suthasini 3-0 in the third match of the tie.

The pair of Sharath and Yangzi began the match with immaculate coordination as they took the first game 11-6 before winning the next one by the same scoreline. The third game went in the favour of the Chennai Lions paddlers through a golden point.

Tie score: Chennai Lions 11-4 Goa Challengers: Benedikt Duda bt Alvaro Robles 2-1 (11-5, 8-11, 11-7); Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Suthasini Sawettabut 1-2 (11-8, 10-11, 6-11); Sharath Kamal/Yangzi Liu bt Harmeet Desai/Suthasini 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-10); Sharath bt Harmeet Desai 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8); Yangzi bt T. Reeth Rishya 2-1 (11-4, 11-10, 8-11).