Manika, Natalia help keep Bengaluru Smashers alive in the tournament

YEAR |
Updated: July 24, 2023 at 1:26 am IS

Pune (Maharashtra) [India]July 24 (ANI): Star Indian rowers Manika Batra and Natalia Bajor produced thrilling performances as Bengaluru Smashers beat Puneri Palta Table Tennis 8-7 in the Sunday hit of the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Puoluewahalungi.
Puneri Palta Table Tennis needed just a game to draw when Natalia came to the table in the final match (Women’s Singles) and defeated Archana Kamath 3-0 to keep Bengaluru Smashers alive in the league.
In the first game, Natalia won an exciting 11-8. He played accurate forehands combined with powerful forehands and took the second game with the same scoreline. The Polish paddler held his nerve in the decision and won it with a score of 11-9.
Earlier, Manika beat Hana Matelova 2-1 in the second match of the tie to register her third women’s singles win of Season 4 for Bengaluru Smashers.
The world number 35 showed impeccable control of her back games early on, winning the first game 11-9, before Hana fought back brilliantly to take the second game 11-8 to wrap up the match.
However, India’s highest ranked player did not lose his focus and took the third game 11-6 and the match.
World number 58 Kirill Gerassimenko beat 2018 ITTF Africa Cup champion Omar Assari 2-1 to get the Bengaluru series off to a perfect start.
World number 23 Omar started the first game in an aggressive mode, targeting the wings to win it 11-8 before Kirill staged a stunning comeback to win the second game via golden point. The third game also went to the golden point, where the Kazakh paddler showed tremendous mental strength to take the game and the match.
In the third match of the tie (Mixed Doubles), Hana and Manush Shah beat Manika and Kirill 3-0 as they brought Puneri Paltan table tennis back into contention.

The Bengaluru Smashers pair started well but Hana and Manush responded quickly to win the first game 11-9. They carried the momentum to win the second game through the golden point. The third game also went in favor of Hana and Manushi 11-4.
Puneri Paltan Table Tennis extended their lead as Manush beat Jeet Chandra 2-1 in the penultimate match of the tie.
The Vadodara-based paddler looked confident from the first serve and grabbed the opening game 11-9 before winning the next one by the same score. Jeet bagged the third game 11-7 to keep Bengaluru Smashers’ hopes alive.
Draw:
Puneri Palta TT 7-8 Bengaluru Smashers
Omar Assar 1-2 Kirill Gerassimenko (11-8, 10-11, 10-11)
Hana Matelova 1-2 Manika Batra (9-11, 11-8, 6-11)
Manush/Hana 3-0 Kirill/Manika (11-9, 11-10, 11-4)
Manush Shah 2-1 Jeet Chandra (11-9, 11-9, 7-11)
Archana Kamath 0-3 Natalia Bajor (8-11, 8-11, 9-11). (LETTER I)