India’s highest-ranked female paddler Manika Batra returned to winning ways as she produced scintillating performances to hand Bengaluru Smashers’ first win in the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune. Bengaluru Smashers have now jumped to fourth position in the league table with the 8-7 win over defending champions Chennai Lions.
Manika, who lost to reigning national champion Sreeja Akula in the previous contest, looked at her imperious best in the second match (Women’s Singles) of the tie and clinched a 2-1 win against the Chennai Lions’ paddler. The World No. 35 began the first game with a bang as she startled Sutirtha with her powerful forehands. Later, Manika also used her precise backhands to secure the game by a margin of 11-6. The second game saw Sutirtha making a strong comeback. She took the lead at the start of the game and put Manika under pressure with her swift net play and accurate shots on both sides of the table. Sutirtha took her compatriot to the edge and won the game with a golden point. Manika came back strongly in the third game as she used her reach to full advantage. The Asian Games bronze medallist did not let Sutirtha settle into her game and quickly took the game by 11-8 to win the match.
In the third match of the tie, Manika and Kirill defeated Sharath and Yangzi Liu 2-1 to extend Bengaluru’s lead to 6-3. Manika and Kirill found it difficult to play in sync in the beginning as the Chennai Lions pair took the first game 11-6 before the Bengaluru Smashers pair came roaring back and won the second game 11-9 to level the match. Kirill and Manika then used swift movements to take the game by 11-7 and extend their franchise’s lead to 6-3. The last game of the tie was a women’s singles match where Yangzi beat Natalia Bajor 2-1 but it was a little too late as the Bengaluru Smashers clinched their first victory of Season 4.
