Manav Thakkar proved a game-changer before Sutirtha Mukherjee took U Mumba past RP-SG Mavericks, Kolkata to a 9-6 triumph.
The battle involving two bottom-placed sides in the six-team Ultimate Table Tennis league ended with Mavericks staring at elimination.
The match also saw Manika Batra crash to her second loss in three outings. After Goa Challengers’ Archana Kamath whipped Manika 3-0, it was Sutirtha Mukherjee’s turn to cruise to a 2-0 lead before dropping the third.
Though Sutirtha exposed the chinks in Manika’s armoury, it was Thakkar who hurt Mavericks the most.
By the time Thakkar stepped into the arena, to play mixed doubles with Doo Hoi Kem, his team had lost two singles and trailed 2-4 on tie-score. Soon, Thakkar and Doo trailed 0-7 to southpaws Sanil Shetty and Matilda Ekhom and Mavericks was right on top.
From this point, Thakkar began the resurrection. With Doo playing the supporting role, Thakkar’s aggression paid off and the pressure slowly shifted to the Mavericks pair. Eventually, it was Thakkar and Doo who
took the ‘golden point’.
Thereafter, Mavericks never recovered from losing the game after being 7-0 up. Thakkar and Doo piled on the agony by completing a 3-0 win.
This result put Mumbai 5-4 ahead but Thakkar was not done with Mavericks. He dominated the first two games against Shetty but could not complete a rout after losing the ‘golden point’.
With the score reading 7-5, Sutirtha was expected to take at least one game off Manika. She did way better by claiming two games allowing Manika some consolation.
The results:
U Mumba beat RP-SG Mavericks 9-6 (Doo Hoi Kem lost to Matilda Ekhom 5-11, 11-3, 8-11; Kirill Gerssimenko lost to Benedikt Duda 10-11, 11-10, 7-11; Manav Thakkar and Doo Hoi Kem bt Sanil Shetty and Matilda 11-10, 11-6, 11-7; Thakkar bt Shetty 11-8, 11-9, 10-11; Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Manika Batra 11-7, 11-7, 1-11).
Friday’s fixture: Dabang Delhi v Goa Challengers (7 pm).
