Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas lead Shazé Challengers 7-5 in gripping tie

Chennai:17 July(National24news)Oilmax Stag Yoddhas led Shazé Challengers 7-5 after four gripping matches in their ongoing tie in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at a packed Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

Soumyajit Ghosh put Shazé Challengers ahead with a stunning 2-1 victory over Nigerian world No 29 Aruna Quadri of Oilmax Stag Yoddhas in the men’s singles (Indian v Foreign), the opening match of the day.

World no. 85 Ghosh cruised to a 11-2 win in the opening game before Quadri staged a strong comeback to win the second at 11-9.

The Nigerian jumped to a 7-2 lead in the third before the Indian rallied brilliantly to turn the contest on its head, taking the lead at 8-7 before winning the game at 11-8.

China-born German world No. 9 Han Ying extended Shazé Challengers’ lead to 4-2 with a 2-1 win over Manika Batra of Oilmax Stag Yoddhas in the women’s singles (Foreign v Indian).

Indian world No. 104 Manika pulled off a surprise win in the opening game 11-8, before experienced Ying regained control take the next at 11-5 and was pushed to the limit before holding on to win the third game on the golden point (11-10).

In a turn in fortune, Oilmax Stag Yoddhas’ mixed doubles (Indian/Foreign) pair of Abhishek Yadav / Doo Hoi Kem (HK) routed Shazé Challengers’ pair of Soumyajit / Petrissa Solja (Germany) 3-0 (11-10. 11-9, 11-6) to help their side edge ahead on points at 5-4.

Oilmax Stag Yoddhas’ Quadri rallied from a game down to win his second match of the day, the men’s singles (foreign player category), against Croatia’s Andrej Gacina 2-1 (10-11, 11-6, 11-3) to put Oilmax Stag Yoddhas ahead 7-5 after four matches. Five more matches remain in the ongoing tie.

Meanwhile, Oilmax Stag Yoddhas’ top player Panagiotis Gionis (Greece, world No 19) has been ruled out of the remainder of the league due to an inflammation in heel and has been replaced by Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar.

On Tuesday, DHFL Maharashtra United will take on RP-SG Mavericks in what is the second outing for both.

Scoreline: Oilmax Stag Yoddhas 7-5 Shazé Challengers (at the end of four matches)

MS – Aruna Quadri vs Soumyajit Ghosh 1-2 (2-11, 11-9. 8-11)

WS – Manika Batra vs Han Ying 1-2 (11-8, 5-11, 10-11)

MD – Abhishek Yadav/ Doo Hoi Kem vs Soumyajit Ghosh/ Petrissa Solja 3-0 (11-10, 11-9, 11-6

MS – Aruna Quadri vs Andrej Gacina 2-1 (10-11, 11-6, 11-3)

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Upbeat Falcons TTC confident taking on Dabang Smashers T.T.C: Shetty

Chennai:15July(National24news) An upbeat Falcons TTC will take on confident Dabang Smashers T.T.C on Day 4 of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis to be played in Nehru Indoor Stadium here in Chennai on Sunday.

Riding on a pumped up performance from India's Sanil Shetty and China’s Wu Yang, Falcons TTC made a comeback win after trailing 5-7 half way through in their first tie against RP-SG Mavericks. “Wu Yang’s 3-0 win over Sabine in the fifth game was a great confidence booster for the entire team. No doubt it was inspirational as at this point we took lead in the tie,” explained Shetty.

The next match Shetty created an upset beating world No. 31 Tiago Apolonia which gave Falcons a 2-point cushion over RP-SG Mavericks. “Wu kept a clean slate in her next game (against Archana Kamath) which brought us closer to winning the tie. The team was pumped after that and the eventual result was a satisfying 15-12 win over Mavericks,” said Shetty. The 27-year old knows it’s a long way to go in the league with four more games to play, the next coming up against Dabang Smashers T.T.C on Sunday.

On his team's upcoming fixture Shetty feels it would be a great contest as their opponents pulled back from being down by 6-12 to ending the contest at 12-15 against Shazé Challengers on Friday night. “Kim Song I and Marcos (Freitas) did incredible to bring them back in the contest. The last tie between Tetyana and Petrissa was anyone’s game. Points don’t tell the real story about how well Dabang played actually,” Shetty explained.

The Mumbai lad still feels his team Falcons TTC is equipped to match Dabang Smashers T.T.C in all departments and looks forward to playing them.

The league will be broadcast live on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2, Hotstar & JioTV. 

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Falcons TTC to take on RP-SG Mavericks in the opening match of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis

Chennai:13 July(National24news)The anticipation to witness India’s first ever professional table tennis league ends as the inaugural edition of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis is ready to roll on Thursday, July 13, at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. The opening day will be graced by the Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, India’s chess maestro, who will be present to watch the Falcons TTC lock horns with RP-SG Mavericks in what promises to be a nail-biting face-off. 

While the Falcons TTC boasts of World No.13 among women Wu Yang in their line-up apart from Indian trail blazers in Sanil Shetty, Arjun Ghosh, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Priyadarshini Das and foreign recruits Lee Ho Ching, Par Gerell and Liam Pitchford, team RP-SG Mavericks will be heavily backed by Chennai audience as it features home-grown hero Sharath Kamal Achanta. The team under the tutelage of Sachin Shetty and German Peter Engel features Birdie Boro, Archana Kamath and Amrutha Pushpak as part of Indian contingent while  Apolonia Tiago, Stefan Fegerl, Sabine Winter and Sofia Polconova form their foreign line-up. 

Both teams are equally poised in terms of experience and youth but what will set them apart is their planning and strategizing to use different combinations that will prove vital in determining the winner of the inaugural match. “The team has gelled well over the past few days and we are eager to start the league. Personally, I am very excited as I have not played in front of my home crowd for more than a decade. The format is quite fast-paced and interesting and we obviously look forward to start on a winning note,” expressed Sharath Kamal. 

The format is short and exciting where each team will play nine matches in a Tie with each match comprising 3 Games. Consequently, each Tie shall comprise 27 Games. Each game shall have players competing to score 11 points first, meaning if scores are level at 10-all then the 11th point will be a Golden Point and shall decide the winner. Whichever individual/pair scores 11 points and is termed as the winner of each Game shall receive one point towards the Team’s total for each such game that is won. The winning team in a Tie shall be decided by the number of total games won i.e. total points won in the relevant Tie. The Team that wins 14 or more Games out of the 27 Games shall be the Winner of that respective Tie.

“The lead up to the Ultimate Table Tennis has been a very enriching experience as most of us have got to interact with our idols in the sport and even play a couple of practice matches here in Chennai. We are all set for the first match and I can assure you it will be top class entertainment and action,” stated Sanil Shetty of Falcons TTC. 

UTT is India’s newest franchise-based professional sports league which will see 24 foreign players and 24 Indian players (both men and women) playing for six different franchises.  While Chennai will host the first leg of India's first ever professional Table Tennis League at Nehru Indoor Stadium from July 13-20, the second leg will be played in Delhi at Thyagraj Sports Complex between July 21-25. The last and the final leg of the league will be held in Mumbai starting July 26 until 30 with the Semi Finals and Final of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis to be played in Mumbai city at the NSCI. 

The matches will be shown live from 7:30 PM on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 and will be live streamed on Hotstar and JioTV.

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Sachin Shetty and Peter Engel’s experience with Indian paddlers can prove vital for RP-SG Mavericks: Sharath Kamal

Mumbai, 8 July (National24news)With just five days to go for the inaugural edition of the CEAT UTT, India’s first-ever professional table tennis league, preparations are in full swing in the RP-SG Mavericks camp as they take on Falcons TTC in the first match of the League on July 13 in Chennai. 

Coached by Sachin Shetty and the vastly experienced Peter Engel, the team features prominent faces in Sharath Kamal Achanta who is undoubtedly a fan-favourite in the league. With Gold medals to his credit at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Indian ace can get the crowd going. Giving him company will be 19-year-old Birdie Boro. The man who hails from Guwahati has idolised Sharath Kamal growing up, and at CEAT UTT, he has the chance to partner him. Boro’s playing style is in line with Kamal’s as they both favour a more offensive approach to the game. 

In the women’s category, the Mavericks pin their hopes on the gifted Archana Kamath. The 18-year-old is fast gaining recognition for her fierce style. Kamath has achieved plenty with Gold in the 2015 French Open being her biggest achievement yet. Partnering her will be another young player in Amruthapushpak Shekhar. The Chennai-born right hander has garnered a lot of buzz after her performances in the National Ranking Tournament. “There is a lot of the excitement in our camp. It is the first-time Indian players are involved in a League of this nature and the format too is very interesting. We want to make a big impression in the first season of the CEAT UTT and if we are able to begin the League with a win then we can carry on the momentum,” expressed Sachin Shetty, who was the Indian junior team coach at the India Open 2013 where he led the side to 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. 

The foreign players include Apolonia Tiago and Stefan Fegerl. Both are fans of tennis great Roger Federer and also lean towards a more attacking style of play. The Austrian Fegerl was a part of the 2015 European Championship and also, admirably, was a runner-up in the 2015 Polish Open. While Tiago will be one to keep a close eye on as he likes to take the game to his opponent. 

In the foreign women category, German Sabine Winter brings with her a plethora of experience. Winter won the European Championship Doubles in 2013 and 2016, while securing third position in the European Top 16 Cup and in the World Championships team event. While Winter is right-handed, her partner Sofia Polcanova is left-handed. The 22-year-old Austrian has represented her country in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. “I feel our squad has been carefully picked with players who can provide great combinations and that will prove vital in this format. With coaches who are not new to the Indian players as Peter Engel was the Indian national team coach from 2013 to 2014 while Sachin is known to all us, their experience with Indian paddlers could prove to be vital in our team’s chances. I think the CEAT UTT is a great initiative to grab the Indian audience’s attention towards table tennis and witness how exciting matches can be,” stated Sharath Kamal. 

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Sanil and Dabang Smashers T.T.C.’s Sathiyan upsets top seeds at ITTF World Tour Platinum Australia Open

Australia:4 July(National24news) In run up to the much anticipated Ultimate Table Tennis, Indian stars Sanil Shetty who will represent Falcons T.T.C and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran who was drafted by Dabang Smashers T.T.C created an upset on Tuesday toppling their Korean and Chinese Taipei counterparts respectively in the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australia Open at Gold Coast, Australia. 

Sanil Shetty beat Korea’s Jang Woojin, the no.13 seed, (11-9, 3-11, 12-10, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8) and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran accounted for Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An, the no.14 seed (11-6, 4-11, 1-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9). In a space of two days Falcons T.T.C.'s Sanil Shetty has beaten players who last year had won ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles titles.

Their victory against their higher ranked counterparts should definitely be a morale booster for both Falcons T.T.C and Dabang Smashers T.T.C. leading up to the league that starts from July 13, 2017 in Chennai. 

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