Puneri Paltan Table Tennis go down the third time in as many matches, lose to U Mumba TT
U Mumba TT won their third tie of the season, as Puneri Paltan Table Tennis slumped to as many defeats. It was an amazing all-round display from U Mumba, as they won all four singles matches against the Paltan. This win against the Paltan on Saturday took Mumba to the top of the table.
Paltan's only match win was the mixed doubles where Chuang-Chih-Yuan and Ayhika Mukherjee got the better of Manav Thakkar and Doo Hoi Kem.
In the first match of the day, which was the Women's Singles, it was an aggressive Sutirtha Mukherjee from U Mumba who beat Ayhika Mukherjee 2 games to 1. In the battle of Mukherjees, Sutirtha won the first game 11-7, before Ayhika made a comeback in the second game. Ayhika won the second game 6-11. However, Sutirtha launched a speedy attack, winning the third game convincingly, 11-5.
Manav Thakkar was next and he extended the lead of U Mumba. Up against the Paltan captain Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar started his attack and won the first two games 11-6 and 11-8. However, Desai made a late comeback and avoided a whitewash, winning the last game 8-11.
After the first set of singles was the mixed doubles where Manav Thakkar and Doo Hoi Kem went down against Chuang Chih-Yuan and Ayhika Mukherjee 2-1. The first two games were taken by the Paltan 5-11 and 6-11. Post these two games, both the teams were tied at 4 games each. But Mumba took the third game, establishing the lead again.
Then started the second set of singles, starting with the Men's Singles match between Kirill Gerassimenko and Chuang Chih-Yuan. The experienced Chinese Taipei paddler was no match to Kirill in the first game, losing 11-5. However, the experience kicked in soon enough and Chuang raced to a 6-0 lead in the second game and won it 6-11. Kirill was back on his toes in the final game, taking it away 11-8.
With one match to go, Mumba led the tie 7-5. Had Puneri won the final match 3-0, it was Paltan's tie. However, the final game too went to U Mumba. Doo Hoi Kem beat Sabine Winter 2-1 in the final match of the night, with scores of 11-5, 10-11, 11-3.
Final Results:
Women's Singles:
Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Ayhika Mukherjee 2-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-5)
Men’s Singles:
Manav Thakkar bt Harmeet Desai 2-1 (11-6, 11-8, 8-11)
Mixed Doubles:
Manav Thakkar/ Doo Hoi Kem lost to Chuang Chih-Yuan/ Ayhika Mukherjee 1-2 (5-11, 6-11, 11-6 )
Men’s Singles:
Kirill Gerassimenko bt Chuang Chih-Yuan 2-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-8)
Women’s Singles:
Doo Hoi Kem bt Sabine Winter 2-1 (11-5, 10-11, 11-3 )
Puneri Paltan's last league clash is against Goa Challengers on the 7th of August. Catch them in action live on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar and JioTV on 7th at 7pm.