CHENNAI: The quality on view on the first day of the Ceat-Ultimate Table Tennis League (UTT) here on Thursday was nothing less than top-class.
The inaugural tie between Falcons TTC and RP-SG Mavericks set the momentum for forthcoming ties. Falcons’ 15-12 victory over Mavericks will definitely give the other teams a fair idea on how to work out their strategies.
The league has all the elements that go into making the event a sure-shot success as far as hosting big events goes; top-class lighting, world-class players and the three-game concept, which is unpredictable, make it a spectacle for those present.
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Hosting nine matches one one table is a good idea. For it gives each player the space and the stage to showcase his/ her wares and the spectators to devour their game.
It was a day when Sweden’s Par Gerell and Wu Yang of China could do no wrong as they won both their singles matches for Falcons. Yang was the more impressive of the two as she won both her matches without losing a game, thereby giving her team valuable points.
The World No.13, a defence player, first drubbed Sabine Winter 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 and then eased past 17-year-old Indian Archana Kamath 11-2, 11-4, 11-6.
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Any doubts that critics had about the UTT vanished the moment the first tie began. The contest between Indian star A. Sharath Kamal and Gerell didn’t have one dull moment. Though the first game saw both playing cautiously, the second and third games were exhilarating as both attacked from the back of the table with thunderous forehand and backhand drives.
Though Sharath lost 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 to the disappointment of local fans, the contest came alive and got the crowd engaged.
It was a day to remember for Sanil Shetty. His 4-11, 11-10, 11-8 win over world No. 31 Tiago Apolonia would rank as his one of his best, purely for the manner in which he went about his strokes. His forehand drives from the back of the table caught the Portuguese on the wrong foot more often than not.
The results:
Falcons TTC bt RP-SG Mavericks 15-12 (Par Gerell bt A. Sharath Kamal 11-6, 8-11, 11-9; Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Sabine Winter 11-8, 11-7, 11-6; Sanil Shetty & Lee Ho Ching bt Sharath & Sofia Polcanova 11-8, 8-11, 11-5; Liam Pitchford lost to Stefan Fegerl 11-6, 11-9, 9-11; Yu Wang bt Winter 11-9, 11-6, 11-5; Sanil bt Tiago Apolonia 4-11, 11-10, 11-8; Wu Yang bt Archana Kamath 11-2, 11-4, 11-6; Gerell bt Apolonia 9-11, 11-9, 11-3; Lee Ho Ching lost to Polcanova 11-1, 11-5, 11-10).