By Kirti Patil
Pune: World No. 159 Archana Kamath, who the first Indian player, male or female, to enter the semifinals of the Youth Olympic Games, scored an upset win over Suthasini Sawettabut, ranked World no. 39, as Puneri Paltan TTs beat Goa Challengers 8-7 to register their first victory in the IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 at the Badminton Hall of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi here on Monday.
The Karnataka-based paddler took an early lead as she played accurate forehands to shock Suthasini. Archana never let the momentum slip away and took the first game 11-6 before unleashing her A game to take the second game 11-8 and the tie for Puneri Paltan TT. She lost the third game 6-11 but secured victory for her franchise.
The franchise-based league, promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), has been a game-changer for Indian table tennis since its inception in 2017.
Earlier in the first match Puneri Paltan TT’s Manush Shah faced Goa Challengers’ Harmeet Desai (Men’s Singles) and but lost 0-3 (10-11. 9-11, 10-11), in a battle between the Gujarat -based players.
Both Gujarat-based paddlers went toe to toe from the beginning and played with attacking rallies to gather points. The first game went in the favour of Harmeet 11-10 through a golden point.
The World No. 65 kept his nerve in the second game despite falling behind Manush early on. Harmeet reduced the three-point deficit with ease before winning the second game 11-9. The third game was also decided through a golden point wherein Desai used his swift moments to good effect and registered a win to put his franchise in ahead, but only just.
In the second match (Women’s Singles) Reeth Tennison defeated Hana Matelova2 -1 to extend Goa Challengers’ lead to 5-1.
Though the Czech paddler dominated the first game winning the first game over Reeth 11-3 before the Indian player made a comeback and took the second game through golden point. The third game saw Reeth at her imperious best as shetook the game 11-3 to put her franchise in a comfortable position in the tie.
Then Manush and Hana beat Harmeet and Suthasini Sawettabut in the third match (Mixed Doubles 3-0 to bring Puneri Paltan TT back into the contest and reduce the deficit to 5-4.
The pair of Manush and Hana looked in complete control of the match as they took the first game through a golden point before winning the second 11-3. The third game also went in the favour of Manush and Hana 11-7 as they brought their franchise back into the tie.
World No. 23 Omar Assar went into the fourth match (Men’s Singles) of the tie against Alvaro Robles with positive intent. He won it 2-1 to bring the tie to 6-6 and gave Puneri Paltan Table Tennis a shot at victory.
The Egyptian paddler lost the first game through a golden point. However, he came back with a bang as he played precise shots and beat Robles in long rallies to take the second game 11-5 before winning the third 11-9.
The Results:
Puneri Paltan TT beat Goa Challengers 8-7
Manush Shah lost to Harmeet Desai 0-3 (10-11. 9-11, 10-11)
Hana Matelova lost to Reeth Tennison 1-2 (11-3, 10-11, 3-11)
Manush Shah/Hana Matelova beat Harmeet Desai/Suthasini Sawettabut 3-0 (11-10, 11-3, 11-7)
Omar Assar beat Alvaro Robles 2-1 (10-11, 11-5, 11-9)
Archana Kamath beat Suthasini Sawettabut 2-1 (11-6, 11-8, 6-11)