by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
On Tuesday 25th July in New Delhi, Dabang Smashers beat Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas 14-13 in one of the closest contests of the whole competition.
Pivotal to the success was the host nation’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran; in the opening contest he beat Tomislav Pucar (11-2, 11-7, 6-11) to set the example with Kim Song I being the player to secure the victory. In the concluding duel, she accounted for Polina Mikhailova (11-4, 6-11, 11-9). The success for Kim Song I being gained after in the second match of the engagement, she had lost to India’s Manika Batra (11-9, 11-9, 4-11)
Matters concluded in New Delhi, play moved to Mumbai on Wednesday 26th July where victory for Falcons TTC proved a major stride towards their semi-finals hopes. They recorded a 17-10 win against DHFL Maharashtra United. Names to note were those of India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee and Sanil Shetty, both recorded notable wins.
Sutirtha Mukherjee accounted for Fu Yu (7-11, 11-5, 11-9), most impressively Sanil Shetty defeated João Monteiro (11-6, 11-8, 11-10).
Success for Falcons TTC, in the immediately ensuing contest on Thursday 27th July, it was success for Shazé Challengers and a penultimate round place reserved. They recorded a 15-12 win against Re-SG Mavericks.
Star of the show for Shazé Challengers was Soumyajit Ghosh; the mainstay of victory was Han Ying. Soumyajit Ghosh rose to the challenge to beat Stefan Fegerl (10-11, 11-10, 11-8); Han Ying accounted for both Archana Girish Kamath (11-5, 11-6, 11-4) and Sofia Polcanova (11-5, 11-8, 10-11).
At the semi-final stage, on Friday 28th July, Falcons TTC play DHFL Maharashtra United; on Saturday 29th July, Shazé Challengers confront Dabang Smashers. The final will be played on Sunday 30th July.
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – First Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – Second Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – Third Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – Fourth Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Complete Results – Fifth Series
Ultimate Table Tennis: Latest Updates as on Tuesday 25th 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)