by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
On the opening day of action, Thursday 13th July, Falcons beat RP-SG Mavericks with the host nation’s Sanil Shetty being the player to shine.
He partnered Lee Ho Ching to doubles success against Sharath Kamath Achanta and Sofia Polcanova (11-8, 8-11, 11-5), before causing a major upset by overcoming Tiago Apolonia (4-11, 11-10, 11-8).
An unbeaten display by Sanil Shetty, it was the same from his Falcon’s colleagues Pär Gerell and Wu Yang. Pär Gerell accounted for Sharath Kamal Achanta (11-6, 8-11, 11-9), before overcoming Tiago Apolonia (9-11, 11-9, 11-3). Impressive performances; it was the same from their female counterpart Wu Yang. She beat both Sabine Winter (11-9, 11-6, 11-5) and Archana Girish Kamath (11-2, 11-4, 11-6).
The defensive skills of Wu Yang stood firm, as did those of Han Ying, on duty for Shaze Challengers against Dabang Smashers on Friday 14th July.
She accounted for Madhurika Patkar (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) and Kim Song I (6-11, 11-9, 11-10) in a fixture where the ladies proved the backbone of victory. Petrissa Solja partnered Soumyajit Ghosh to Mixed Doubles success against Ukraine’s Kou Lei and Madhurika Patkar (11-9, 11-8, 11-4), before in the concluding match of the engagement, accounting for Tetyana Bilenko (11-5, 6-11, 11-10).
Meanwhile for Dabang Smashers, Portugal’s Marcos Freitas remained unbeaten; he beat both Soumyajit Ghosh (11-3, 11-6, 10-11) and Li Ping (7-11, 11-6, 11-5).
Unbeaten performances from Han Ying and Petrissa Solja to guide Shaze Challengers to success; it was the same on Saturday 15th July from Fu Yu alongside her male counterparts Wong Chun Ting and Harmeet Desai, as DHFL Maharashtra United overcame Oilmax Stag Yoddhas.
Fu Yu, in the one and only contest in which she was required to play, beat Polina Mikhailova in the ninth and determining match of the engagement (11-9, 7-11, 11-9). A vital win but the backbone of victory was Wong Chung Ting, the star of the show Harmeet Desai.
In the opening match of the contest, Harmeet Desai caused a major upset by beating Panagiotis Gionis (11-6, 11-10, 11-9), before Wong Chun Ting overcame Jubin Kumar (11-7, 8-11, 11-4) and followed with success in opposition to Quadri Aruna (11-7, 11-10, 10-11).
Notably for Oilmax Stag Yoddhas, Doo Hoi Kem remained unbeaten; she overcame both Liu Jia (11-5, 11-7, 10-11) and Ktittwika Sinha Roy (11-9, 11-5, 11-8).
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – First Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Latest Updates as on Saturday 15th July
Format of Play
A fixture in Ultimate Table Tennis comprises nine matches, each match is three games; all three games are played. Each game is played to 11 points but should the score reach 10-10, the winner of the next point is declared the victor.
Each game won counts one point. Thus in each fixture there are 27 points at stake.
Overall eight players comprise a team, two men and two women from foreign associations; two men and two women from India. A fixture comprises four Men’s Singles matches, four Women’s Singles and one Mixed Doubles contest.
In each of the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles matches, two contests involve foreign players confronting each other; two involve a foreign player facing an Indian opponent. No player may compete in two matches in any one fixture.
Following the conclusion of the fixtures on Thursday 27th July in Mumbai, the top four teams will enter the play-off stage, also held in Mumbai, to determine the name of the champions.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th July with the final on Sunday 30th July.
Ultimate Table Tennis: The Teams (as on Saturday 15th July)
Ultimate Table Tennis: The Fixtures (Commence on Thursday 13th July)
Ultimate Table Tennis: Competition Format (as on Saturday 8th July)