Archana
– Photo: Social Media
Expansion
In the fourth season of Ultimate Table Tennis, Puneri Paltan has registered its first win. On Monday, Puneri Paltan defeated Goa Challengers 8-7 on the back of a brilliant performance by Archana Kamath. World No. 159 Archana Kamath defeated World No. 39 Suthasini Sawethabut in a thrilling encounter to hand her team its first win of the season. The Karnataka paddler took an early lead against Suthasini by playing a precise forehand. Archana did not lose momentum and won the first game 11-6. She then brought her A game to the table and won the second game 11-8 to equalize for Puneri Paltan Table Tennis. She lost the third game 6-11, but pulled off a massive upset to seal the victory for her franchise.
Harmeet of Goa Challengers faced Manush in the first match of the tie and earned three valuable team points for his franchise. The contest between the two paddlers from Gujarat witnessed a close fight from the very beginning. After a 10-10 draw, the first game went in favor of Harmeet 11-10 through a golden point. The world number 65 kept his spirits up in the second game despite going behind Manush at the start. Harmeet easily reduced the gap to three points before winning the game 11-9. The third game was also decided through golden points, where the Goa Challengers paddler made good use of his quick moments to register the win and put his franchise in a better position.
In the second match of the tie, Reeth Tennyson beat Hana Matelova 2-1 to extend Goa Challengers’ lead to 5-1. The paddler from the Czech Republic completely dominated the first game and saw off Reith 11-3. After this, the Indian player made a comeback and won the second game through golden point. In the third game, Raith produced his best performance to win 11-3 and give his franchise important points.
Manush and Hana beat Harmeet and Suthasini Sawetabut 3-0 in the third match of the tie to bring Puneri Paltan back into the contest and reduce the score to 5-4. The pair of Manush and Hana completely dominated the match and won the first game through a golden point. After this both won the second game also 11-3. The third game also went 11-7 in Manush and Hana’s favor as they brought their franchise back on par.
World number 23 Omar Asser entered the fourth match against Alvaro Robles with positive intentions. He won it 2–1 to level the match at 6–6. The Egyptian paddler lost the first game on a golden point. However, he came back with a bang and played accurate shots and beat Robles in long rallies to take the second game 11–5 and then won the third game 11–9 to seal victory for his team.