Wu Yang and Liam Pitchford won both their matches to help Falcons TTC beat Maharashtra United 14-5 in the first semi-final of the inaugural Ultimate Table Tennis on Saturday in Mumbai, reported PTI. The team which secures 14 points first is declared winner in the knockouts.
Hong Kong world No 8 Wong Chun Ting put DHFL Maharashtra United ahead with a 2-1 win over southpaw Sanil Shetty, ranked 201 in the world, in the men’s singles (Foreign v Indian), the opening match of the tie. However, Chinese world No. 13, Wu Yang, brushed aside Pooja Sahasrabudhe Koparkar (DHFL Maharashtra United) 3-0 in the women’s singles (Foreign v Indian) for Falcons TTC to move 4-2 ahead on points.
In the mixed doubles (Foreign/Indian pair) DHFL Maharashtra United’s pair of Harmeet Desai and the experienced Fu Yu edged out Sanil Shetty and his partner Lee Ho Ching 2-1 to reduce their margin of deficit to 4-5. Briton Liam Pitchford pulled off an upset win over Wong Chun Ting 2-1 in the men’s singles (Foreign player category) to extend Falcons TTC’s lead to 7-5.
Chinese ace Wu Yang won her second outing of the day as she put it past China-born Austrian world No 22 Liu Jia (DHFL Maharashtra United) 3-0 in the women’s singles (Foreign player category) to take Falcons TTC a step closer to victory, at 10 -5. Liam Pitchford then won his second match of the day, beating Harmeet Desai 3-0 in the men’s singles (Foreign v Indian) to move Falcons TTC to 13-5, with just a point away from moving into the final.
Sutirtha Mukherjee won the opening game against Liu Jia in the women’s singles (Foreign v Indian) 11-10 to seal the tie for Falcons TTC. Falcons TTC will meet the winner of the second semi-final, to be played between Shaze Challengers and Dabang Smashers tomorrow, in the summit clash on Sunday.
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