CWG star Manika stuns World No. 18 in UTT
Team Udayavani, Jun 17, 2018, 5:07 PM IST
Pune: Table tennis sensation Manika Batra today shocked World No. 18 Sofia Polcanova in a thrilling duel to give Dabang Smashers TTC an early lead against Warriors TTC in the Ceat Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here today.
The sizeable weekend crowd that had turned up at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi to cheer the CWG star got their money’s worth as the 23-year-old upstaged the Austrian, ranked 62 spots higher 2-1 (11-10, 5-11, 11-10).
Two of the three games were decided by the golden point’ with the 80th-ranked Indian serving on both occasions to squeeze in the winners. She served well and was quite effective with her backhand that earned her five points. In all, she gained 14 points on serve to unsettle her left-handed rival.
Manika had won a record four medals at the Gold Coast Games including two gold.
Another crowd favourite Sharath Kamal, however, failed to get past Japanese Yoshida Masaki (World No. 27) with the Warriors captain going down 1-2 (11-7, 8-11, 8-11) in a highly entertaining battle that was peppered with long rallies.
The 35-year-old Indian’s loss meant Warriors had lost both their opening singles and Dabang had gained a 4-2 lead on points.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Seven West Indies players to train at Chennai Super Kings Academy from December 1
Gukesh strikes back, levels score in World Chess Championship
Ban not shocking, it will be lifted if I join BJP: Bajrang Punia on NADA suspension
Bumrah regains top spot in ICC Test bowling rankings; Jaiswal rises to second among batters
I want to prolong England career: Stokes’ reason for skipping IPL mega auction
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Priyanka Gandhi takes oath as LS MP after big win from Wayanad
Mangaluru: Speaker UT Khader urges focused discussions in upcoming winter session
Seven West Indies players to train at Chennai Super Kings Academy from December 1
Equity markets rise in early trade amid buying in HDFC Bank, SBI
Money laundering case: ED team undertaking searches attacked in Delhi
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.