PBG Bengaluru Smashers took a significant step toward playoff qualification with a resounding 11-4 victory over Jaipur Patriots in the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
Spearheaded by Manika Batra and Alvaro Robles, the team from Bengaluru prolonged their unbeaten streak and registered their third straight win, increasing their points tally to 32. Batra herself added to the flourish by defeating Suthasini Sawettabut in the tie’s final match 3-0 – winning two Golden Points along the way – putting on a show for those watching.
The tie’s first match between Robles and Cho Seung-min produced rousing rallies and sensational comebacks, especially from the former, who became the first paddler to beat the South Korean in UTT 2024.
Captain of PBG Bengaluru Smashers, Robles trailed in both games one and two at the time-out but rallied back to win both, thus taking the match. Jaipur Patriots’ Cho swung one back in his team’s favour with a win in the third.
Lily Zhang followed in her captain’s footsteps by securing PBG Bengaluru Smashers’ second tie win, over Jaipur Patriots’ Nithyashree Mani. Zhang took all three games – 11-5, 11-10, 11-5 – increasing her side’s lead to 5-1. Nithyashree and Cho then partnered in the mixed doubles round to avenge their previous defeats, beating Anthony Amlaraj and Zhang 3-0.
‘Comeback’ was the theme of the men’s singles. Just as his captain had done earlier, Jeet Chandra twice came from behind at the time-outs to beat Snehit SFR in a clean sweep. Jeet trailed 1-5 in the first game, and 2-5 in the second, but took the match with an 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 score-line.
For their contributions to PBG Bengaluru Smashers’ win, Jeet and Zhang were named the Indian and Foreign Player of the Tie, respectively. Robles claimed the ACT Fastest Rally of the Tie honour, while Zhang also took the Shot of the Tie honour.
Friday’s doubleheader will see Chennai Lions take on U Mumba TT and Dabang Delhi TTC square off against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis.
UTT 2024, the franchise-based league promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India).
Detailed scores:
PBG Bengaluru Smashers bt Jaipur Patriots 11-4: Alvaro Robles bt Cho Seung-min 2-1 (11-6, 11-7, 10-11); Lily Zhang bt Nithyashree Mani 3-0 (11-5, 11-10, 11-5); Amalraj/Zhang Lost to Cho/Nithyashree 0-3 (7-11, 9-11, 9-11); Jeet Chandra bt Snehit SFR 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6); Manika Batra bt Suthasini Sawettabut 3-0 (11-10, 11-4, 11-10)