Smashing win: Ankur put it across his Bengal senior Bhanja.
| Photo Credit: M. VEDHAN
Ankur Bhattacharjee – the new kid in the block of Indian table tennis – continued his dream run in his debut Ultimate Table Tennis season to keep Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in the hunt for the knockouts.
Riding on the 17-year-old’s stellar show, Paltan defeated wooden spooners Jaipur Patriots 9-6 in the penultimate league round. The result meant that the last two places for the semifinals would see a four-horse race in the last round.
Later in the night, diminutive Diya Chitale staged a sensational comeback against Manika Batra for Dabang Delhi TTC to stun PBG Bengaluru Smashers 8-7 and win the battle between the table-toppers.
But the day belonged to the unconventional teenager Ankur who set the tone for a super Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium by conquering his Bengal senior Ronit Bhanja in an entertaining affair.
Ankur – thanks to his uncanny ability to play backhand jabs and reverse side-spins – bamboozled Bhanja. Sensing that Bhanja relishes in rallies from far behind the table, Ankur ensured he kept on breaking the flow of the rallies and following up with winners consistently.
Once Ankur’s 2-1 win maintained his record of being the only Indian with an unbeaten singles record in UTT’s fifth season, his Paltan teammates ensured the start didn’t go to waste, albeit Natalia Bajor may rue having conceded a game to Nithyashree Mani in the last rubber.
While the last double-header of the season started with the younger gun stunning an experienced paddler, it ended on the same note. Trailing 7-5, Diya maintained a clean slate against Manika to help Dabang surpass the Smashers. Diya saved two tie points in the second game to win the golden point with a powerful forehand top-spin. The Mumbai girl continued to attack effectively to dethrone Manika.
Diya’s clean slate, preceded by captain G. Sathiyan’s 3-0 drubbing of Jeet Chandra, meant Dabang won the last seven games to mark the comeback of the season.
The results:Puneri Paltan Table Tennis bt Jaipur Patriots 9-6 (Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Ronit Bhanja 10-11, 11-10, 11-8; Ayhika Mukherjee lost to Suthasini Sawettabut 11-8, 10-11, 7-11; Natalia Bajor & Anirban Ghosh bt Nithyashree Mani & Cho Seungmin 11-10, 7-11, 11-9; Joao Monteiro bt Cho 8-11, 11-10, 11-7; Bajor bt Nithyashree 11-8, 7-11, 11-6).
PBG Bengaluru Smashers lost to Dabang Delhi TTC 7-8 (Alvaro Robles bt Yashansh Malik 11-3, 11-10, 11-5; Lily Zhang bt Orawan Paranang 11-7, 11-7, 11-7; Robles & Manika Batra lost to G. Sathiyan & Paranang 8-11, 11-8, 8-11; Jeet Chandra lost to G. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 10-11, 6-11, 5-11; Manika Batra Diya Chitale 6-11, 10-11, 8-11).
The standings: PBG Bengaluru Smashers 48 points (5 ties); Dabang Delhi TTC 41 (5); Ahmedabad SG Pipers 30 (4); U Mumba TT 29 (4); Athlead Goa Challengers 29 (4); Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 28 (4); Chennai Lions 25 (4); Jaipur Patriots 25 (4).