With the end of the second leg of the Ultimate Table Tennis League for RP-SG Mavericks and Dabang Smashers TTC, both will be battling for the top position. The tournament’s second leg was held at Delhi from June 20-26 where both the teams reached 48 points but Mavericks managed to sneak up to the top position after winning all the matches in the league till now.
The second leg began with the encounter of these two teams itself in the first match. The Smashers began on a positive note after in-form player, Manika Batra defeated Sabine Winter of Mavericks and gave the lead to the Smashers. But after that, Mavericks managed to make a comeback as India’s Harmeet Desai and Mouma Das won with ease over their foreign opponents. Experienced Mouma was brought in as a replacement for Ayhika and the gamble paid off as she won the match against the young Adriana Diaz of Smashers.
Harmeet, Ayhika and Mouma have been an excellent spearhead for the Mavericks as they have won five out of ten singles matches played so far. Harmeet Desai has been the most successful Indian player of the Delhi leg after his victory over Yoshida Masaki of Smashers and Aruna Quadri of Warriors.
The last match was the closest tie of the leg as the Mavericks managed to press down Warriors by 11-10. The Warriors are second from the bottom as their Indian as well foreign players failed to put up a consistent performance this season. The Warriors are trailed by the Empowerji Challengers who are at the bottom with 36 points.
Despite being on the bottom, the Challengers have made a comeback in the second leg after having just 15 points in the first. The star player for the Challengers, Simon Gauzy’s return to form has been a motivating factor for the team.
Sanil’s 3-0 defeat was the only drawback for the Falcons TTC as they were the best team in the second leg undoubtedly. They achieved victory over the Warriors and the Challengers with the match ending with a similar 15-6 scorecard. The Falcons have secured the third place with 45 points while the Maharashtra United are standing fourth on the table with 38 points.
The Warriors TTC and Maharashtra United will now fight for the fourth spot in the last match of the league stage and the winner will grab the qualification spot.
With the concluding matches of the tournament, Challengers will play against Dabang Smashers on June 26 while Maharashtra United will lock horns with Warriors. In the last match of the league, Falcons TTC will encounter RP-SG Mavericks.
The third leg of the UTT will be held at Kolkata from June 26 to July 1 consisting of semi-finals and finals on the three days.
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