By Kirti Patil
Pune: South Asian Games team gold medallist Ayhika Mukherjee, the World No. 135, scored an upset win over World No. 26 Lily Zhang to contribute majorly in her team’s 11-4 win. Dabang Delhi TTC, which was languishing at the bottom of the table leapfrogged to No. 2 position following their second win in the ongoing IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 tie at the Badminton Hall of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi here on Monday.
Ayhika fought for every point and won 2-1with all the three games being decided through golden point against the American paddler Lily Zhang to lay the foundation for her franchise’s victory.
The first game saw a nail-biting battle as Lily and Ayhika showcased immaculate backhands to win points. In the end, it was the American paddler who pocketed the game through a golden point.
Both players continued their fighting spirit in the second game as well which went into the favour of Ayhika through a golden point. The West Bengal-born paddler showed tremendous mental fortitude as she won the decider through a golden point to clinch the match.
The franchise-based league is 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.
Earlier, Jon Persson defeated Manav Thakkar 3-0 in an exciting contest. Manav looked out of touch early on as Persson quickly reached 10-2 in the opening game before Manav earned six back-to-back points to enthral the spectators. However, the Swedish paddler held his nerve to win the first game 11-8 with an accurate forehand.
The second game also saw the Surat-based paddler making Persson sweat for every point before the Dabang Delhi TTC player took the game 11-8. Persson won the following game 11-7 with his incredible shots on both flanks.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Barbora Balazova beat Manav and Lily 2-1 in the third match (Mixed doubles) of the tie to further extend the lead of Dabang Delhi TTC. The first game went to the U Mumba TT’s pair by 11-5 before Sathiyan and Barbora clinched the next two 11-5, 11-8 to win the match.
World No. 18 Quadri Aruna defeated Sathiyan 2-1 in the penultimate tie but could not save U Mumba TT from a defeat. Quadri clinched the first two games 11-6, 11-6 before the Indian paddler took the third by 11-8 to take his franchise to win.
In the last match of the tie, Sreeja Akula beat Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) to complete a perfect victory for Dabang Delhi TTC.
The result:
Dabang Delhi TTC beat U Mumba TT 11-4
(Jon Persson bt Manav Thakkar 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-7; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Lily Zhang 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-10)
G. Sathiyan/Barbora Balazova bt Manav/Lily Zhang2-1(5-11, 11-5, 11-8); Sathiyan lost to Quadri Aruna1-2 (6-11, 6-11, 11-8)
Sreeja Akula bt Diya Chital3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8)
Standings:
1. Chennai Lions 35 points
2. Dabang Delhi TTC 33
3. Goa Challengers 30
4. U Mumba TT 28
5. Puneri Paltan TT 28
6. Bengaluru Smashers26
