It proved pack-up time for Manika Batra and RP-SG Mavericks from the Ultimate Table Tennis league.
Marching ahead in style was Chennai Lions that led comfortably through the tie and completed a resounding 11-4 thrashing of the Kolkata franchise on Tuesday.
The triumph catapulted Chennai to the second spot from fifth in the six-team table. With just two league matches remaining, U Mumba tops the list with 44 points from five games, followed by Chennai Lions (35 from four), Dabang Delhi (33 from four), Goa Challengers (30 from four), Mavericks (30 from five) and Puneri Paltan (23 from four).
Tuesday’s tie ended the agonising campaign of Manika in the league. Struggling for form, she suffered a humiliating 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Madhurika Patkar.
Once World No. 24 Petrissa Solja set the table for Chennai with a surprise 3-0 rout of Matilda Ekholm, ranked 23, Mavericks simply could not bridge the gap. Tiago Apolonia enhanced the margin by taking the first two games against Sanil Shetty before the latter managed to pull one back.
Making amends
Thereafter, the unbeaten duo of Sharath Kamal and Petrissa made amends for losing the first game on ‘golden point’ to Benedikt Duda and Manika by racing away with the next two.
Sharath could not keep pace with his good friend Duda in the singles and lost 1-2. But Sharath gave his team the winning lead in an encounter that provided most thrills. The players produced some long rallies interspersed with innovative shot-making.
Sharath’s defeat was pushed to the background once Madhurika came out firing against Manika. She controlled the first game to put pressure on her more fancied opponent.
In the second, Madhurika showed character by bouncing back from 0-5 and 8-10 to claim the ‘golden point’. In the final game, Madhurika progressively grew stronger, leaving an exasperated Manika with plenty to think about.
The results:
Chennai Lions bt RP-SG Mavericks (Kolkata) 11-4 (Petrissa Solja bt Matilda Ekholm 11-7, 11-10, 11-9; Tiago Apolonia bt Sanil Shetty 11-9, 11-6, 3-11; Sharath Kamal & Petrissa bt Benedikt Duda & Manika Batra 10-11, 11-4, 11-7; Sharath lost to Duda 7-11, 11-5, 7-11; Madhurika Patkar bt Manika 11-5, 11-10, 11-8).
Wednesday’s fixture: Goa Challengers v Puneri Paltan (7 p.m.) .
