UTT: Shaze Challengers lead Dabang Smashers TTC 8-4 after four matches

Shaze Challengers were leading Dabang Smashers TTC 8-4 on points at the end of match 4 on Day 2 of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Friday.

Portuguese world No. 14 Marcos Freitas put Dabang Smashers TTC ahead with a 2-1 victory (11-3, 11-6, 10-11) over Indian Soumyajit Ghosh in the men's singles (Foreign vs Indian) clash.

Left-handed Freitas jumped to a 5-2 lead in the opening game before closing it out in aggressive style. Ghosh came back strongly in the second game and he even led 4-3 before Freitas beat back the Indian's challenge to race to a 9-6 lead before sealing the game.

Freitas broke away to a 5-3 lead in the third game but Ghosh clawed back to 9-9 and held his nerve to earn a point for his team, Shaze Challengers, by winning the third game.

Women's world No. 9 Han Ying brushed aside an error-prone Madhurika Patkar of Dabang Smashers TTC 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) to give Shaze Challengers a slight edge on points (4-2).

Ying, a China-born German, was at her defensive best while Madhurika lapsed into a series of unforced errors in the first two games and didn't quite recover thereafter.

The pairing of Petrissa Solja and Soumyajit Ghosh of Shaze Challengers beat Kou Lei & Madhurika Patkar of Dabang Smashers TTC 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-4) in the mixed doubles (Foreign-Indian pair) to further extend their side's grip on the tie by taking a 7-2 lead on points.

Kou Lei of Dabang Smashers TTC beat Andrej Gacina of Shaze Challengers 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 9-11) to bring Dabang Smashers TTC back into the contest in the fourth match, men's singles (Foreign player category).

Shaze Challengers lead 8-4 on points with five more matches scheduled to be played in this ongoing tie.

On Saturday, Oilmax-Stag Yoddas will take on DHFL Maharashtra United.