Manika, Sutirtha make winning starts at World Singles Qualification Tournament

 Mumbai, March 14, 2021: Ace India paddlers Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee began their quest for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics berth on winning note as the duo registered comfortable straight-set victories in their respective women's singles knockout stage-I opening round matches at the World Singles Qualification Tournament in Doha on Sunday.

The Commonwealth Games gold medallist Batra dominated Bulgaria’s Maria Yovkova during her 11-5, 11-7, 11-4, 11-0 win. While Mukherjee faced some resistance from her opponent Lisa Lung in the fourth game but it was too late for Italian as Mukherjee wrapped the game as well as the match 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 in her favour.  

Meanwhile, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan suffered defeats against Italian opponents in their respective men's singles opening matches. While Sathiyan lost to Mihai Bobocica 11-7, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5, seasoned campaigner Sharath also couldn’t manage hold edge over Niagol Stoyanov as he went down fighting 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 4-11, 11-8, 10-12. Both the Indians had received bye in the opening round.

With four Indians participating in the ongoing qualification event, where a total of nine (four men and five women) places are up for grabs and scheduled from March 14-17. In the men’s category, players are split into three knockout rounds with the winner of each knockout round earning himself a place in the singles event at the Tokyo Olympics. While the losing finalist and semi-finalists from each of the three knockouts, will be drawn into another knockout stage and the winner will secure the remaining one spot.

For the women’s category, entries are split into four knockouts with the winner of each knockout securing a spot in singles at the Tokyo Olympics. However, losing finalist from each of the four knockouts will fight for the remaining single berth as they will participate in the second stage where they will be drawn into a final knockout and the winner will make it to the Olympics.

Later tonight in the women’s second round matches, Batra will take on Uzbekistan’s Rimma Gufranova while Sutirtha will face a challenge from Russian Polina Mikhailova.  

ENDS

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Coaches give UTT a thumbs up, say it’s the right way forward for Indian table tennis to improve

Mumbai, 8 August(National24news) I am really thrilled to see many of the Indian players progress so well though some of them are beating players from my team,” Peter Engel expressed jovially. The 63-year-old German, who was part of the RP-SG Mavericks team at the recently concluded CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis, was part of the Indian contingent in 2014 and as national coach, he was responsible for guiding top guns in table tennis to some memorable feats.

Coming back to India for the first-ever professional league, Engel admitted that the table tennis movement in India is headed in the right direction. “Professional leagues are a great step forward in terms of bringing the right exposure to your players. While there are many Indians who are playing regularly in the Europeans leagues, it is important to have a league of this kind in India to create the excitement around the sport and the Ultimate Table Tennis has achieved it to a large extent,” Engel said. “Though just hosting a league alone will not fetch great results internationally, at least, you are preparing your players to face-off with the best in the business and there is so much one can learn during the league of this kind,” he added.  

Elena Timina of Netherlands who coached the Shazé Challengers to the final of the first-ever professional league categorically stated that she was impressed with the organisation of the league. “The organisers have done an exceptional job in terms of carrying out the league which is on par with the ones played in Europe. They have also put in a lot of thought behind the kind of player pool which was critical. Though we did not win the final, I am happy with the performance of our team as well as to see many Indian players hold their nerves against top international stars. While I think the Indian men are already on par with international standards, the women can benefit a lot from leagues like these. They have great talent but need to pay more attention to their fitness levels,” expressed Timina who is a former international player.

Meanwhile, Indian coach Arup Basak who was with the DHFL Maharastra United expressed that this was the best platform for the Indian women to play against the best defensive paddlers in the world. “With best of the Chinese-origin players like Han Ying and Wu Yang taking part in the league, this was the best opportunity for our Indian women to learn as much because rarely do our girls ever get to train against best defensive players. Most of our Indian women are attackers and to learn to play against chopper will help them a great deal in international matches,” he said.

Sachin Shetty of RP-SG Mavericks too expressed that this platform will set the pace for the Indian players preparations for the upcoming tournaments. “Indian players will take part in the Czech Open and Bulgaria Open after the national ranking tournament in Delhi. I am sure many of them who participated at the UTT will try out different tactics they learnt during their stint at UTT during this outing and they will have enough time to adapt to these changes in their game ahead of an all-important 2018 where they play Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A professional league like UTT was the need of the hour and I am sure this will help create a larger pool of players in the coming years,” stated Shetty, also a national coach.       

About Ultimate Table Tennis:

India’s newest franchise sports league Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is set for its inaugural season in July 2017 to promote and enhance the sport of table tennis in the country. After the positive impact of India Open 2017, held in New Delhi in February 2017, Ultimate Table Tennis aims to take the sport of table tennis to greater heights. UTT is owned and developed by 11Even Sports Private Limited (ESPL), a Mumbai based company exclusively formed for the promotion and development of the game of Table Tennis in India. UTT will strive to be a world-class league that inspires the youth, entertains and engages fans, drives development at grassroots level and delivers value to all stakeholders.

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CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis to invest Rs. 20 Lakh into the sport

Mumbai :1 August(National24news) While the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis remains India’s first professional league for the sport and one of the most ambitious projects of 11Even Sports in their vision to bring success in the 2020, 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games, the sports promotion company also engages in several development programmes that works towards bringing table tennis talent across the country to the fore. 

In this pursuit, 11Even Sports, at the successful conclusion of the inaugural edition of CEAT UTT on July 30, announced it will invest Rs. 20 Lakh basis the performance of top ten players of the League towards the development of Table Tennis in India. The initiative titled ‘Ultimate Top Ten’- top 10 players who has scored the maximum points in the League, will promote the sport through grassroot development and encourage youngsters to pick the sport. China’s Wu Yang won the ‘Ultimate One’ prize of Rs.1,50,000 for scoring 456 points and being the leader in the points table along with winning the title of Most Valuable Player- Female and a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000. Teammate, Liam Pitchford won the MVP- male and prize money of Rs. 1,00,000 as Falcons TTC outclassed Shaze Challengers 14-9 to win the inaugural edition of CEAT UTT 

“To make the sport more popular and reach out to every TT enthusiast, just a league won’t be enough. We need to build a pyramid structure to make India a force to reckon in the sport. We, therefore, decided to make this investment of Rs.20 lakh back into the sport to begin with,” said Vita Dani, owner & promoter, Ultimate Table Tennis.

Wu Yang, the winner of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis title, MVP-female as well as the Ultimate One, too was excited at a victorious conclusion of her campaign. “This was my first experience and I must say it has been very exciting and memorable for me. The League was so well organised and then winning the title as well as the Ultimate One and MVP has been an experience I’ll always remember. I have had a great time with everyone in India and look forward to coming back soon,” said the world No. 13. 

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Sathiyan upsets world No. 8 as Dabang Smashers T.T.C. take control over DHFL Maharashtra United

New Delhi:22July(National24news)Dabang Smashers T.T.C. took a commanding 8-4 lead over DHFL Maharashtra United after four matches with some solid display in the 10th tie of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.

World No. 110 G Sathiyan put Dabang Smashers T.T.C. ahead with a stunning 2-1 (11-3, 11-9, 7-11) win over Hong Kong world No. 8 Wong Chun Ting in the men’s singles (Foreign v Indian), the day’s opening match.

Sathiyan ran away with the opening game and then rallied back to clinch the second. Wong Chun Ting, however, came back strongly to win the third and bag a point for his team.

North Korea world No 19 Kim Song I extended Dabang Smashers TTC’s lead to 4-2 with a 2-1 (11-2, 11-5, 9-11) victory over Pooja Koparkar in the women’s singles (Foreign v Indian).

In-form Kim Song I dominated the Indian world No 279 in the first two games but the Maharashtra lass rallied to win the third game to hand her side a second point.

Next up was mixed doubles (Foreign/Indian pair), and Dabang Smashers T.T.C.’s Anthony Amalraj/ Tetyana Bilenko registered a 2-1 (11-8, 11-4, 4-11) win over Harmeet Desai/ Liu Jia to further their team’s lead to 6-3.

China-born Ukraine international Kou Lei, ranked No. 28 in the world, pulled off a thrilling 2-1 (11-10, 11-9, 5-11) win over Wong Chun Ting in the men’s singles to give Dabang Smashers T.T.C. a commanding 8-4 lead over DHFL Maharashtra United after four matches.

At the end of four matches - DHFL Maharashtra United 4-8 Dabang Smashers T.T.C.

MS – Wong Chun Ting lost to G Sathiyan 1-2 (3-11, 9-11, 11-7)

WS – Pooja Sahasrabudhe lost to Kim Song I 1-2 (2-11, 5-11, 11-9)

MD – Harmeet Desai/ Liu Jia lost to Anthony Amalraj/ Tetyana Bilenko 1-2 (8-11, 4-11, 11-4)

MS – Wong Chun Ting lost to Kou Lei 1-2 (10-11, 11-9, 5-11)

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Shazé Challengers and Falcons level at 6 after four matches

New Delhi:22 July(National24news)Shazé Challengers and Falcons TTC were level at 6-all after four matches on day 9 of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.

World No. 42 Li Ping put Shazé Challengers ahead with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5) win over Maharashtra southpaw Sanil Shetty (Falcons TTC) in the men’s singles (Foreign v Indian), the day’s opening match.

China-born Qatar international Li Ping was in control as he quelled a late challenge from Shetty, ranked 201 in the world, in the opening two games and wrapped up the final game with ease to hand his side full three points.

However, in-form Chinese world No. 13 Wu Yang levelled points for table-toppers Falcons TTC as she brushed aside Mouma Das 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-7) in the women’s singles (Foreign v Indian).

Soumyajit Ghosh/ Petrissa Solja (Germany) got the better of Sanil Shetty/ Lee Ho Ching (HK) (Falcons TTC) 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-10) in the mixed doubles (Indian/ Foreign pair) to put Shazé Challengers back in the lead at 6-3.

Li Ping (Shazé Challengers) retired hurt in the second game against Par Gerell that saw Falcons TTC level it at 6-6 after four games. Five more rounds remain in the ongoing tie.

On Saturday, DHFL Maharashtra United will lock horns with Dabang Smashers TTC in a fourth round tie.

At the end of four matches: Shazé Challengers 6 – 6 Falcons TTC

MS – Li Ping beat Sanil Shetty 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5)

WS – Mouma Das lost to Wu Yang 0-3 (4-11, 2-11, 7-11)

MD – Petrissa Solja/ Soumyajit Ghosh beat Sanil Shetty/ Lee Ho Ching 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-10)

MS – Li Ping lost to Par Gerell 0-3 (retired hurt) 

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