Ultimate Table Tennis, Day 11: Puneri Paltan stays ahead of Bengaluru Smashes despite loss

Puneri Paltan TT lost to Bengaluru Smashers 7-8 but stays ahead in the overall standings of Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4.

Published : Jul 23, 2023 22:40 IST , PUNE - 1 MIN READ

Manush Shah and Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan Table Tennis during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Bengaluru Smashers in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023.
Manush Shah and Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan Table Tennis during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Bengaluru Smashers in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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Manush Shah and Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan Table Tennis during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Bengaluru Smashers in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Manush Shah’s magnificence helped Puneri Paltan TT, the home team, snatch the advantage from Bengaluru Smashers. But Jeet Chandra and Natalia Bajor’s late charge meant the adopted home team - with the Pune-based owners having a larger cheering squad than the home team - sneaked ahead to a 8-7 win in the Ultimate Table Tennis season four.

Manush, the bespectacled Barodian, led the Paltan’s revival on Sunday night in front of the largest spectator turnout at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex after the Smashers had opened up a 4-2 lead.

With Manush winning five of the six points that were up for grabs in the matches that he featured in, Paltan staged a dramatic turnaround after the Bengaluru franchise that started on a promising note.

Manika Batra and Kirill Gerassimenko of Bengaluru Smashers during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023
Manika Batra and Kirill Gerassimenko of Bengaluru Smashers during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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Manika Batra and Kirill Gerassimenko of Bengaluru Smashers during the Ultimate Table Tennis tie against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in Pune on Sunday, July 23, 2023 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

When the Paltan was ahead 7-4, and an on-song Manush having won the first two games against Jeet Chandra, the Paltan bench was sensing a win. But Jeet pulled off a late heist to keep the tie alive and Natalia Bajor whitewashed Archana Kamath in an entertaining duel to spark celebrations along with her teammates.

But the win wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for Kirill Gerassimenko and Manika Batra, the Bengaluru’s star players, starting off on an impressive note. While Kirill surprised Egypt’s Omar Assar, Manika overcame Hana Matelova’s stiff resistance with an identical margin of 2-1,

The close tie result also meant that both the teams kept their hopes of a semifinal berth alive with just four league ties remaining.

The result
Puneri Paltan TT lost to Bengaluru Smashers 7-8 (Omar Assar lost to Kirill Gerassimenko 11-8, 10-11, 10-11; Hana Matelova bt Manika Batra 9-11, 11-8, 6-11; Manush Shah & Hana bt Kirill & Manika 11-9, 11-10, 11-4; Manush Shah bt Jeet Chandra 11-9, 11-9, 7-11; Archana Kamath lost to Natalia Bajor 8-11, 8-11, 9-11).
The standings
Chennai Lions 35 points (4 ties); Goa Challengers 30 (4); U Mumba TT 24 (3); Puneri Paltan TT 28 (4); Bengaluru Smashers 26 (4); Dabang Delhi TTC 22 (3).
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