Ultimate Table Tennis 2017: Falcons TTC rout Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas to open 18-point lead on top of table

Chennai: Falcons TTC registered an emphatic 22-5 victory over a hapless Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas on day seven of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Nehru indoor stadium on Wednesday. Indian paddler Sanil Shetty starred with two wins including one against world No 29 Quadri Aruna. [caption id=“attachment_3832935” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sanil Shetty and Ho Ching Lee of Falcons TTC during a match. Image courtesy: UTT 2017 [/caption] It was a one-way traffic right from the word go as Shetty got Falcons off to a superb start by putting it across the Nigerian by three games to nil. He won 11-6, 11-10, 11-9 as Quadri succumbed to some impressive stroke-making by his rival. Shetty, the world No 201 stunned Quadri with a range of attacking shots to which his opponent simply had no answers. It was Shetty’s second win over a foreign player in the tournament having beaten Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia earlier. After the dream start for Falcons, Wu Yang proved too good for India’s Manika Batra, winning 11-5, 11-10, 11-8. Shetty followed up his singles heroics by partnering Lee Ho Ching for a 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-8) win over Abhishek Yadav and Doo Hoi Kem in the mixed doubles, which meant Falcons had taken a commanding 9-0 lead. In the fourth rubber, Swedish veteran Par Gerell bounced back after losing the opening game to get the better of Tomislav Pucar 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 to extend Falcons’ lead to 11-1. Ching won her second match of the night, by hammering Polina Mihailova 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 to dash the Yoddhas’ hopes. There seemed to be no respite for the Yoddhas with Gerell returning for his second win of the night, this time over India’s Abhishek Yadav. He reeled off three games in a row (11-6, 11-7, 11-7). Having won just one game till that stage, Mihailova restored some pride for Yoddhas by beating Suthirtha Mukherjee 3-0 (11-10, 11-7, 11-7) but Falcons closed out the match in quick time by winning the next two rubbers. The eight match was won by Briton Liam Pitchford against Quadri (11-9, 7-11, 11-9) while Wu Yang finished with a flourish by trouncing Doo Hoi Kem 11-8, 11-4, 11-2. The big win took Falcons TTC to the top of the standings with 50 points, having opened up a massive 18-point advantage over their nearest rival, Yoddhas, who had an eminently forgettable night.