New Delhi: Aggressive display of table tennis was put forth by the duo of Sweden's World No. 25 Matilda Ekholm and India's Sanil Shetty to help RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata record an easy 10-5 win over Puneri Paltan in the Ultimate Table Tennis here on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old Ekholm began her team's charge with an emphatic 3-0 win in the opening Women's Singles encounter against Puneri Paltan. Shetty closed it for them, pouncing on the opportunity to put pressure on his Indian counterpart, Harmeet Desai and forcing him into mistakes.
He surprised Desai with a 2-1 win to clinch the tie for RP-SG.
In between, Shetty and Ekholm joined hands to eke out a crucial 2-1 victory in the Mixed Doubles to put RP-SG in the driver's seat.
Earlier, Ekholm set the tone for the day, getting the better of Germany's Sabine Winter 3-0. It began as an even contest but the Swede slowly asserted herself, even winning a spectacular rally that lasted 30 shots. After taking the first set 11-9, she raced away in the remaining two (11-5, 11-6) to give RP-SG an early 3-point lead.
German recruit Benedikt Duda (No. 53), then ripped out an upset, overcoming Chuang Chih-Yuan (No. 28) rather comfortably. He won the first two sets on 6 and 4 before yielding the third at 8-11.
The Mixed Doubles was a close affair, with Shetty and Ekholm locked in an intense battle with Desai and Winter for supremacy. Winter defended smartly to help Puneri take the first set. But then, Shetty-Ekholm came into their own, attacking with gusto.
The match was evenly poised till 7-7 before RP-SG pulled away for an 11-8 victory.
The final set too was dominated by Shetty-Ekholm, at one point putting them 9-4 ahead. Desai-Winter fought back to 9-10 but couldn't finish it off.
In the reverse Men's Singles, Desai stormed away to a 6-2 lead only to see Shetty claw his back in. Shetty dragged the set to 8-10 but that's where it stopped. The second set was tantalisingly close, with neither player conceding ground. They went neck and neck all the way till 10-10 till Shetty gobbled up the golden point. The same story unfolded in the final set too, though Shetty was well poised at 10-8. Desai saved two match points but eventually lost on another golden point.
India's star player Manika Batra tamed Ayhika Mukherjee 2-1 in the final fixture.
