Young Adriana Diaz showed nerves of steel to help Dabang Smashers TTC return from throes of defeat and win the first semifinal against Maharashtra United 11-10 in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis here on Friday.
The 17-year-old trailed 1-7 in the final game against Madhurika Patkar before she made a spectacular turnaround to win it 11-9. She then won the next two games to douse the hopes of United, which had led 10-8 before the final match and needed to win just a game to secure a final berth.
Elizabeta Samara had weathered a troublesome ankle to get the better of Manika Batra 2-1 in the first match to help United gain an early lead. A. Amalraj then stunned World No. 27 Yoshida Masaki to give United a 4-2 lead.
The 32-year-old, who made his intentions clear by taking an 8-1 lead in the first game, dominated his opponent to win 11-4, 11-8, 7-11.
Smashers turned it around with its unbeaten pair of G. Sathiyan and Sakura Mori winning the mixed doubles against Amalraj and Lily Zhang 2-1. World No. 52 Cedric Nuytinck fetched another success for Smashers by winning the fourth match (men’s singles) against United captain Joao Monteiro before Mori repeated the scoreline of 2-1 against Lily to give Smashers a 8-7 lead after the fifth match.
The sixth match saw World No. 18 Kristian Karlsson blank Sathiyan 3-0 to give United a sizeable 10-8 lead before Adriana had her own plans in the final match.
The result: Dabang Smashers bt Maharashtra United 11-10 (Manika Batra lost to Elizabeta Samara 11-8, 9-11, 11-10, Yoshida Masaki lost to A. Amalraj 11-4, 11-8, 7-11; G. Sathiyan & Sakura Mori bt Amalraj & Lily Zhang 7-11, 11-5, 11-8; Cedric Nuytinck bt Joao Monteiro 7-11, 11-8, 11-4; Mori bt Lily 7-11, 11-8, 11-6; G. Sathiyan lost to Kristian Karlsson 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Adriana Diaz bt Madhurika Patkar 11-5, 11-6, 11-9).
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