A. Sharath Kamal
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Inspired by its veteran captain A. Sharath Kamal, Chennai Lions roared in its last league match and made a strong case for a semifinal place against all odds by crushing Puneri Paltans Table Tennis with a record victory margin of 12-3 in the Ultimate Table Tennis’ penultimate league clash on Tuesday night.
The Chennai Lions – just like its more celebrated yellow army on a cricket field – had left it too late. But like the CSK Thala, the Lions’ own Thala set the tone with a clean slate of 6-0 to give his team a ray of hope of making it a strong case.
However, Sakura Mori’s first defeat of the season – in the last match of the tie – meant the Lions will have to vociferously cheer for Jaipur Patriots in Wednesday’s last league lash against Ahmedabad SG Pipers. If the Ahmedabad franchise fails to win seven or more games on Wednesday, only then will the Lions go through.
So inspired was Sharath teaching teenager Ankur Bhattacharjee a lesson first up – responding with a rapid winner every time Ankur tried to break the pace of a rally with his uncanny backhand jabs – that Poymantee Baisya also kept a clean slate against fancied Ayhika Mukherjee.
No team in the UTT history had won more than 11 games in a match ever since the league switched into a 15-point format per tie since the third edition. But with the Lions having raced to an unprecedented 9-0 lead, the history was in the making.
More importantly, the Lions were eyeing 13 points to ensure qualification. However, veteran Jaoa Monteiro snatched a game off Jules Rolland to open the Paltan’s account before Bajor played the match of her season to keep the league open.
The scores:
Chennai Lions bt Puneri Paltans Table Tennis 12-3 (A. Sharath Kamal bt Ankur Bhattacharjee 11-7, 11-6, 11-2; Poymantee Baisya bt Ayhika Mukherjee 11-10, 11-9, 11-10; Sharath & Sakura Mori bt Anirban Ghosh & Natalia Bajor 11-3, 11-8, 11-8; Jules Rolland bt Joao Monteiro 11-7, 2-11,11-3; Sakuro Mori lost to Bajor 10-11, 11-8, 3-11)
The standings: PBG Bengaluru Smashers 48 points (5 ties); Dabang Delhi TTC 41 (5); Athlead Goa Challengers 37 (5) Chennai Lions 37 (5); U Mumba TT 36 (5); Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 31 (5); Ahmedabad SG Pipers 30 (4); Jaipur Patriots 25 (4).