Chennai: Experienced Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran kicked off his fifth season in Dabang Delhi TTC colours with a sensational come-from-behind win over World No. 20 Quadri Aruna, the highest-ranked male player in Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, representing U Mumba TT, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.
Sathiyan found it difficult to get a foothold in his first game of the season and trailed 7-0 right at the start against his much higher-ranked opponent. Aruna took the first game easily, but the Indian Olympian bounced back with a sturdy defence and assertive smashers in games 2 and 3, winning by twin 11-9 scorelines to claim the match. Sathiyan’s win over Aruna was his first against the Nigerian table tennis great in his career.
Detailed scores:
U Mumba TT bt Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6: Quadri Aruna lost to Sathiyan G. 1-2 (11-4, 9-11, 9-11); Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-4); Manav/Xiao bt Sathiyan/Orawan 2-1 (11-8, 11-9, 8-11); Manav Thakkar bt Andreas Levenko 2-1 (11-5, 11-4, 7-11); Maria Xiao lost to Orawan Paranag 1-2 (11-10, 9-11, 5-11). IANS
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