Ultimate Table Tennis: Manika-powered Smashers get the better of Paltan; Ankur shines again

Bengaluru Smashers secures second win in Ultimate Table Tennis league with a 10-5 victory over Puneri Paltan.

Bengaluru Smashers scripted its second successive win in Season 5 of the Ultimate Table Tennis league with a 10-5 victory over Puneri Paltan here on Monday.

Paltan’s Ankur Bhattacharjee, rated high by India’s head coach Massimo Costantini, had beaten Lilian Bardet, ranked 90th in the world (102 places above him) the other day. Against Jeet Chandra in the opening men’s singles, Ankur was on fire as he registered a 2-1 win.

The 17-year-old, who plays with a devil-may-care attitude, hits with tremendous accuracy on both flanks. Against Jeet, who is equally aggressive, it was Ankur’s consistency in attack that fetched rewards. However, Ankur’s win turned out to be the only one for Paltan.

The women’s singles contest between Ayhika Mukhjerjee and Manika Batra went the distance. Both started cautiously, gauging each other’s game and waiting for the other to commit mistakes.

After splitting the first two games, it looked like Manika would run away with the third as she took a 4-0 lead.

Ayhika fought back to 4-4 but Manika served well in the middle phase, took a 10-6 lead and it was all over when Ayhika’s forehand sailed long.

Spaniard Alvaro Robles, ranked 30th in singles, displayed his doubles skills as he combined well with Manika to put it across Anirban Ghosh and Natalia Bajor 2-1.