By Kirti Patil
Pune: After a heart-breaking loss against Goa Challengers in their season opener, Dabang Delhi TTC bounced back with all their four paddlers—specially Ayhika Mukherjee and Sathiyan Ganasekaran—pitching in with crucial wins as Dabang Delhi TTC defeated Bengaluru Smashers 10-5 in the ongoing IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 tie at the Badminton Hall of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi here on Tuesday.
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 gamechanger for the sport since its inception in 2017.
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 and set up the path for his franchise’s first victory.
The Indian paddler went into attacking mode from the first serve and used his precise forehands to good effect to take the opening game 11-6. Kirill made a strong comeback in the second game as he won it 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 rallied to earn a fantastic 11-9 victory over his opponent.
Ayhika Mukherjee began confidently against World No. 42 Natalia Bajor in the second match (Women’s Singles) and registered a 2-1 win to extend the lead of Dabang Delhi TTC to 4-2.
The World No. 135 was accurate with her backhands and took the first game 11-7 before using the same strategy in the second. Ayhika also brought her swift moments into the play and won the second game 11-6. However, she lost the third 7-11 as Natalia made impressive efforts to keep Bengaluru Smashers in the tie.
The third match (Mixed Doubles) saw Manika Batra playing alongside her teammate from kazakhstan. The two showed great understanding as the Indo-Kazak duo beat the pairing of Sathiyan and Barbora Balazova 2-1 to bring the Smashers back into the contest the lead narrowed to 5-4.
Jon Persson, then, secured the victory for the Delhi franchise as he defeated Sanil Shetty with a dominating 3-0 win. The Swedish paddler took the first game 11-4 before winning the second 1-7. He won the third game 11-8 as Dabang Delhi TTC took an unassailable 8-4 lead in the tie.
In the last match of the tie (Women’s Singles), Sreeja Akula defeated Manika 2-1 to complete a stunning victory for the Delhi franchise.
Manika took the first game 11-9 before Sreeja made a comeback in the following game and won it through golden point. The last game went in the favour of the reigning national champion 11-8.
The Results:
Bengaluru Smashers lost to Dabang Delhi TTC 5-10
(Kirill Gerassimenko lost to G. Sathiyan 1-2 (6-11, 11-4, 9-11)
Natalia Bajor lost to Ayhika Mukherjee 1-2 (7-11, 6-11, 11-7)
Kirill & Manika Batra bt Sathiyan & Barbora Balazova 2-1(11-4, 11-9, 6-11)\
Sanil Shetty lost to Jon Persson0-3 (4-11, 7-11, 8-11)
Manika Batra lost to Sreeja Akula 1-2 (11-9, 10-11, 8-11).
