The Karnataka paddler took an early lead when she played precise forehands to upset World No.39 Suthasini. Archana did not lose momentum and took the first game 11-6 before bringing her A game to the table and winning the second game 11-8 and the tie for Puneri Paltan Table Tennis. She lost Game 3 6-11 but secured the win 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.
Goa Challengers’ Harmeet faced Manush in the first match (men’s singles) of the tie and earned three valuable team points for his franchise.
Both Gujarat-based rowers went head-to-head from the start of the heat and played with the intention of attacking to score points. The first game went in Harmeet’s favor 11-10 via a golden point.
The world No. 65 kept his nerve in the second game despite falling behind Manush early on. Harmeet cut the deficit to three points with ease before winning the game 11-9. The third game was also decided via a golden point where the Goa Challengers paddler used his quick moments to good effect and recorded a win to put his franchise in a comfortable position.
In the second match (women’s singles) of the tie, Reeth Tennison defeated Hana Matelova 2-1 to extend Goa Challengers’ lead to 5-1.
The Czech paddler completely dominated the first game by beating Reeth 11-3 before the Indian player came back in the tie and took the second game via golden point. Game three saw Reeth at her imperious best as she recorded an 11-3 victory to put her franchise in comfortable playoff position.
Manush and Hana defeated Harmeet and Suthasini Sawettabut in the third match (mixed doubles) of the tie 3-0 to bring Puneri Paltan Table Tennis back into the competition and cut the deficit to 5-4.
The pairing of Manush and Hana seemed to be in complete control of the match as they took the first game via golden point before winning the second 11-3. Game 3 also went Manush and Hana’s favor 11-7 as they brought their franchise back to a tie.
World No. 23 Omar Assar entered the fourth match (Men’s Singles) of the tie against Álvaro Robles with positive intentions. He won it 2-1 to bring the tie to 6-6 and gave Puneri Paltan Table Tennis a chance to win.
The Egyptian paddler lost the first game by a golden point. However, he came back strong by playing accurate shots and beat Robles on long rallies to take the second game 11-5 before winning the third 11-9.
All season 4 ties start at 7:30pm with streaming on Sports 18 and streaming on JioCinema. Tickets will be available at BookMyShow.
Draw result:
Puneri Paltan TT 8-7 Goa Challengers
Manush Shah 0-3 Harmeet Desai (10-11, 9-11, 10-11)
Hana Matelova 1-2 Reeth Tennison (11-3, 10-11, 3-11)
Manush/Hana 3-0 Harmeet/Suthasini (11-10, 11-3, 11-7)
Omar Assar 2-1 Alvaro Robles (10-11, 11-5, 11-9)
Archana Kamath 2-1 Suthasini Sawettabut (11-6, 11-8, 6-11)
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