Ultimate Table Tennis 2018: Defending champions Falcons TTC set up semi-final clash with RP-SG Mavericks

Kolkata: Defending champions Falcons TTC beat RP-SG Mavericks in the last league match to set up a semifinal clash against the same opponent in Ultimate Table Tennis. [caption id=“attachment_4623881” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Matilda Ekholm won against Mouma Das 3-0. Twitter@UltTableTennis[/caption] In the other semifinal, table toppers Dabang Smashers, led by Manika Batra and Gnanasekharan Sathiyan, take on fourth-placed Maharashtra United on Friday. Falcons TTC, who needed just three points to jump ahead of Warriors TTC in the points table, achieved the feat in the third clash of the day. India’s Sanil Shetty paired up with Bernadette Szocs to overcome Harmeet Desai and Doo Hoi Kem 2-1 (11-7, 11-1, 5-11) in the mixed doubles encounter. Germany’s Sabine Winter began the day’s proceedings on a winning note for the Mavericks, beating India’s national champion Sutirtha Mukherjee 3-0 (11-10, 11-2, 11-5). Spain’s Alvaro Robles, however, notched up the two points required for the Falcons to equal the Warriors overall tally and make the rest of the matches essentially meaningless. The World No 56 won 2-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-8) to confirm the fixture for the second semifinal, to be played on Saturday. England’s Liam Pitchford (World No 49) maintained his unbeaten run in the second edition of the UTT, fighting back from a set down to upset Sweden’s Mattias Karlsson (World No 20) 2-1. Hong’s Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem, however, regained the initiative for Mavericks, outhitting Bernadette Szocs in the first two sets. Szocs pulled one back in the third one to keep the fight for supremacy going. Kou Lei of Ukraine overcame a fired up Sanil Shetty 2-1 to ensure that the Mavericks take the second spot on the table. Mouma Das lost the last clash to Matilda Ekholm 0-3, to hand over the psychological edge to the Falcons going into the semifinals.