Ultimate Table Tennis 2018: Teenager Adriana Diaz beats Madhurika Patkar to send Dabang Smashers into tournament final

Kolkata: In a thrilling battle of equals, Dabang Smashers got the better of Maharashtra United to enter the final of the Ultimate Table Tennis at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_4633491” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Adriana Diaz won the last match 3-0 to swing victory in favour of Dabang Smashers. Image Credit: Agencies[/caption] Japan’s Sakura Mori and young Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico scored the crucial victories to guide the Smashers to a 11-10 victory. Mori triggered the Smashers fightback by winning the mixed doubles in the company of captain Gnanasekaran Sathiyan against Anthony Amalraj and Lily Zhang 2-1(7-11, 11-5, 11-8). She went on win the singles upstaging Lily Zhang 2-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-6). But it was the 17-year-old Adriana who kept her nerve to seal Smashers’ final spot with a 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-9) win over Madhurika Patkar. The Puerto Rican was down 1-7 in the third game but she made a sensational fightback to win it 11-9. World No 52 Cedric Nuytinck also played a part in Smashers success by upsetting World No 40 Joao Monteiro 2-1 (7-11, 11-5, 11-8). Earlier, a charged up Anthony Amalraj had put United ahead, stunning World No 27 Yoshida Masaki 2-1 in the second clash of the tie. Romania’s Elizabeta Samara and Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson made the most of that upset, winning their respective singles to keep United in the hunt. The 32-year-old Amalraj dominated his opponent, ranked 108 places above him, to win 2-1 (11-4, 11-8, 7-11) while World No 18 Samara battled a troubled ankle to subdue Manika Batra 2-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-10). Karlsson’s 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-8) drubbing of Smashers’ captain Gnanasekaran Sathiyan meant United were just one point away from a place in the final (10-8) but teenager Adriana dashed their hopes.