Manika Batra Stars as PBG Bengaluru Smashers Continue Playoff Charge With 11-4 Win Over Jaipur

PBG Bengaluru Smashers took a significant step toward playoff qualification in IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 by resoundingly beating Jaipur Patriots 11-4 today at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Spearheaded by Manika Batra and Alvaro Robles, the team from Bengaluru prolonged their unbeaten streak and registered their third straight win, increasing their points tally to 32. Batra herself added to the flourish by defeating Suthasini Sawettabut in the tie’s final match 3-0 - winning two Golden Points along the way - putting on a show for those watching.

The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

The tie’s first match between Robles and Cho Seung-min produced rousing rallies and sensational comebacks, especially from the former, who became the first paddler to beat the South Korean in IndianOil UTT. Captain of PBG Bengaluru Smashers, Robles trailed both games one and two at the time-out but rallied back to win both, thus taking the match. Jaipur Patriots’ Cho swung one back in his team’s favour with a win in the third.

Lily Zhang followed in her captain’s footsteps by securing PBG Bengaluru Smashers’ second tie win, over Jaipur Patriots’ Nithyashree Mani. Zhang took all three games - 11-5, 11-10, 11-5 - increasing her side’s lead to 5-1. Nithyashree and Cho then partnered in the mixed doubles round to avenge their previous defeats, beating Anthony Amlaraj and Zhang 3-0.

‘Comeback’ was the theme of the men’s singles. Just as his captain had done earlier, Jeet Chandra twice came from behind at the time-outs to beat Snehit SFR in a clean sweep. Jeet trailed 1-5 in the first game, and 2-5 in the second, but took the match with an 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 scoreline.

For their contributions to PBG Bengaluru Smashers’ win, Jeet and Zhang were named the Indian and Foreign Player of the Tie, respectively. Robles claimed the ACT Fastest Rally of the Tie honour, while Zhang also took the DafaNews Shot of the Tie honour.

Friday’s double header will see Chennai Lions take on U Mumba TT at 17:00 and Dabang Delhi TTC square off against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis after 19:30.

IndianOil UTT 2024 is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India). Tickets are available online on BookMyShow and offline at the box office near Gate no. 1 of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.