Smashers, Mavericks locked in even battle in UTT

Chennai paddler G Sathiyan got Dabang Smashers TTC to a winning start against RP-SG Mavericks by getting the better of Austrian Stefan Fegerl in the first match on day eight of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here today.
After four rubbers, the teams were locked at six-all.
Sathiyan won 11-5, 11-9, 10-11 to underline his growing stature. Playing aggressively, the home boy kept the experienced Fegerl guessing with powerful shots on both flanks.
Fegerl, who is ranked in the high 20s, didn't lose heart after going down in the first two games and edged out his rival in the third to open the account for Mavericks.

In the second tie, Archana Kamath took the first game against Tetyana Bilenko 11-10 but lost the next two 7-11, 8-11 to hand Smashers a 4-2 lead.
India's top player A Sharath Kamal then provided more joy to the home fans by joining hands with Sofia Polcanova to beat Sathiyan and Kim Song I 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 to put the Mavericks ahead 5-4.
In the fourth match, Tiago Apolonia lost 3-11, 11-10, 10 -11 to Kou Lei as Smashers drew even.