Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2017, day 9, highlights: Shaze Challangers thump down Falcons TTC 16-11

Preview: In the first Tie of Delhi leg in Ultimate Table Tennis, Shazé Challangers will go up against the mighty Falcons TTC at the Thyagaraj Stadium on Friday. After making a winning start to their campaign by beating Dabang Smashers, the Challengers lost a thrilling contest to Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas. [caption id=“attachment_3841199” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] Shaze Challengers’ Han Ying in action, she will look to continue her unbeaten run against Falcons TTC. UTT[/caption] Meanwhile, the table toppers Falcons TTC have been the most dominant team in the league, as they won two out of their three matches, including a resounding victory against Oilmax Stag Yoddhas on Wednesday. There is no denying that the Challengers have to come up with a special performance against the Falcons outfit in order to taste success on Friday. Their encounter against the Yoddhas was evenly poised until the Match 8 with both the teams drawing level at 12-12. However, in the final Match, despite Petrissa Solja fighting tooth and nail against Doo Hoi Kem, she failed to get the better off the 20-year-old in any of the Games. Now, on the brighter side, Han Ying has been stupendous for the Challenges, as the German has won all the matches she has featured in so far. Despite being supremely confident, Ying’s real test would probably come against tonight’s opponents and it’s interesting to see whether she could replicate her impressive performances. Apart from Ying, Soumyajit Ghosh and Andrej Gacina’s contributions were also proved vital in the previous ties and the duo hope to carry their good form tonight. Falcons TTC, on the other hand, are coming into the clash with a demolishing win over Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas 22-5. The biggest surprise for the Falcons has been the incredible rise of Sanil Shetty, as the talented Mumbai lad hammered Quadri Aruna and got the better of Tiago Apolonia against Mavericks. It’s interesting to see whether the Challengers will come up with an answer to Shetty’s counter-attacking table tennis tonight. In addition to Shetty, Wu Yang has also been sensational in the Women’s division. The astonishing fact is that the 25-year-old is yet to lose a Game in the six Matches she has featured so far. There is no doubt that Yang’s red-hot form would be a big headache for the Challengers going forward. The Falcons were rock-solid against the Yoddhas and if they come up with the same performance tonight, there’s no doubt that the Challengers are in for a tough time. With inputs from UTT