By Kirti Patil
Pune: Two-time Commonwealth Games women’s team gold medallist, Manika Batra, showed her imperious form to steer her team—Bengaluru Smashers—to their first win in IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 tie at the badminton hall of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi here on Thursday.
The 8-7win helped Bengaluru Smashers jump to fourth position in the league table.
Manika, who lost to reigning national champion Sreeja Akula in the previous contest, was back to winning ways in the second match (Women’s Singles) of the tie against Sutirtha Mukherjee and clinched a 2-1 win against the Chennai Lions’ paddler.
The game saw Sutirtha making a strong comeback. She took the lead at the start of the game and put Manika under pressure with her swift net play and accurate shots on both sides of the table. Sutirtha took Manika to the edge and won the game through a golden point.
World No. 35, Manika, came back strongly in the third game as she used her reach to full advantage. The Asian Games bronze medallist did not let Sutirtha settle into her game and quickly took the game 11-8 to win the match.
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, seasoned paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal took his time to settle into the first match of the tie (Men’s Singles) as Kirill Gerassimenko took an early lead in the first game. The Indian paddler then used his experience and precise backhand shots to come back into the game and brought the score down to 10-10. However, Kirill was quick to react to earn the golden point and a lead in the tie.
The second game also saw the Kazak paddler going into the lead at first, only for the two-time Asian Games medallist to make a comeback in an astonishing fashion. Top-notch top-spins and side-spins were on display as Sharath showcased his class to win the game 11-7. The third one also went down to the wire where Kirill reigned supreme to win the game and match through a golden point.
The third match of the tie (mixed doubles) saw Manika and Kirill beat Sharath and Yangzi Liu 2-1 to extend Bengaluru’s lead to 6-3.
Manika and Kirill, however, found it difficult to play in sync in the beginning as the Chennai Lions pair took the first game 11-6 before the Bengaluru Smashers pair came roaring back and won the second game 11-9 to level the match.
Kirill and Manika then used swift movements to take the game 11-7 and extend their franchise’s lead to 6-3.
Rising Indian star Jeet Chandra showcased his potential in the fourth match of the tie despite losing 1-2 to World No. 33 Benedikt Duda. The Indian paddler began the first game with supreme confidence and shocked Duda with his energy and pinpoint shots to take the opening game 11-9.
However, the German paddler reacted positively and won the last two games 11-9, 11-7 to reduce Bengaluru’s lead to 7-5.
The last game of the tie was a women’s singles match where Yangzi Liu beat Natalia Bajor 2-1 but it was a little too late as the Bengaluru Smashers clinched their first victory of Season 4.
The Result:
Chennai Lions lost to Bengaluru Smashers 7-8
- Sharath Kamal lost to Kirill Gerassimenko1-2(10-11, 11-7, 10-11)
- Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Manika Batra 1-2 (6-11, 11-10, 8-11)
- ; Sharath & Yangzi Liu lost to Kirill & Manika 1-2(11-6, 9-11, 7-11)
- Benedikt Duda bt Jeet Chandra2-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-7);
- Yangzi Liu bt Natalia Bajor 2-1 (5-11, 11-9, 11-6).
