ThunderBlades lose, face an anxious wait
It was a battle between a side that had to win big to put other teams in contention for the knockouts under pressure and a team that was fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.
While Kolkata ThunderBlades crumbled, Ahmedabad SG Pipers ended its Ultimate Table Tennis season with a tag of the party-pooper.
Fingers crossed
Pipers' 8-7 win means that ThunderBlades have to keep their fingers crossed for the next two league games.
With Goa Challengers and Dabang Delhi TTC having sealed a place in the semifinals, ThunderBlades had to win at least nine games to put the other three contenders under real pressure.
But Ankur Bhattarcharjee threw away a great start against Germany's Ricardo Walther. Leading 8-1 and 9-4, Ankur took it slightly easy, and the seasoned Walther then exposed his opponent's weakness on the forehand corner to run away with the game and the match.
Adriana Diaz then had to beat Ayhika Mukherjee with a 3-0 margin to keep ThunderBlades on course for a semifinal spot. But Ayhika's long-pimples on both sides trapped Diaz in the opening game as the Indian opened up the gap in favour of the Ahmedabad outfit. Leading 5-4 at the end of the mixed doubles, ThunderBlades banked their hopes on Aruna Quadri blanking SFR Snehit, and Selenadeepthi Selvakumar to repeat the feat against debutant Yashini Sivashankar in an all-Tamil Nadu battle.
But Snehit turned the tables on Quadri with his aggressive forehand to win 3-0. Yashini gave ThunderBlades the last laugh by winning the third game despite failing to convert three game points in the first.
The result: Kolkata ThunderBlades lost to Ahmedabad SG Pipers 7-8 (Ankur Bhattacharjee lost to Ricardo Walther 10-11, 5-11, 11-10; Adriana Diaz bt Ayhika Mukherjee 10-11, 11-8, 11-1; Diaz & Ankur bt Ayhika & Walther 11-10, 8-11, 11-7; Quadri Aruna lost to S.F.R. Snehit 10-11, 9-11, 8-11; Selenadeepthi Selvakumar bt Yashini Sivashankar 11-10, 4-11, 11-10).
The standings: Dempo Goa Challengers 44 points (5 matches) Qualified, Dabang Delhi TTC 39 points (4) Q, Kolkata ThunderBlades 36 (5), Jaipur Patriots 32 (4), U Mumba TT 32 (4), Stanley's Chennai Lions 29 (5), PBG Pune Jaguars 28 (4), Ahmedabad SG Pipers 22 (4).
Wednesday's match: Jaipur Patriots vs PBG Pune Jaguars (7.30 p.m.).
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