UTT 2024: Friends turn foes as Bengaluru smashes Puneri Paltan

Friends turn foes, albeit only momentarily, in franchise-based leagues across sports. In cricket, Indian stars Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, otherwise buddies, turn up in different colours for the Indian Premier League. However, once the cameras are off, it doesn’t take long for the duo to get back to being brothers in arms. Footballers Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski, formerly representing rival sides in the Bundesliga, is another classic instance. And this is one of the many reasons why these contests have that added charm of watching best pals trying to get a piece of each other.

The Ultimate Table Tennis also pitted two former doubles partners and friends against each other at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday when Puneri Paltan Table Tennis took a severe 10-5 beating at the hands of PBG Bengaluru Smashers, which has now moved table top.

Ankur Bhattacharjee and Jeet Chandra call themselves the ‘Bengal warriors’ having represented the state together in national competitions. But once the battle lines are drawn, there is never any room for leniency. Adding to the drama was the fact that both these players, self admittedly, have an aggressive approach towards the game.

On matchday five, Paltan’s Ankur dominated the short rallies, winning 21 of the 36 exchanges. Each of these points was celebrated with undying fervour. As if dedicating each point to the dugout, Ankur pointed at coach Parag Agrawal after each winner.

Although Jeet claimed most of the medium and long rallies, Ankur got to have the last laugh.

The 17-year-old, son of renowned coach Anshuman Bhattacharjee, took the first game 11-6, courtesy of a wristy backhand and a fiery forehand from around the net. A streaky second game saw a role-reversal with Jeet winning five of the first six rallies. The pattern continued until the last exchange as Jeet won 11-5. But Ankur mounted a comeback in the decider with pin-point placement to claim the tie.

Although Jeet Chandra of Bengaluru Smashers claimed most of the medium and long rallies, Ankur Bhattacharjee (in pic) got to have the last laugh.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B/ The Hindu

The Smashers’ Manika Batra targeted Ayhika Mukherjee’s forehand on service in the second fixture. That helped turn the tide in favour of the World No. 25, who was initially having a bit of trouble reading Ayhika’s return from the anti-type rubber on the backhand. At one point, it seemed the Naihati-born paddler was getting back into the third game when she snatched the lead 5-4 from Manika after lagging 0-4 at one point, but the celebrations were shortlived.

There was a brief stoppage during the mixed doubles round, when Smashers coach Elena Timina appealed to the umpire after she felt the ball had nicked the opponent’s table before going out of play. Even Spaniard Alvaro Robles, Manika’s partner, was of the same idea. Anirban Ghosh and Natalia Bajor, in a commendable display of sportsman spirit, decided to award the point to their opponents. The Smashers went on to claim this contest 2-1.

The fourth match also went to a decider after Portugal’s Joao Monteiro picked up a golden point in the second game against Robles. Robles caught his European neighbour off guard and out of position on a couple of occasions even though the latter tried to win most of his points via lengthy rallies. Robles’ win saw the Smashers lead 7-5 ahead of the last face-off between local girl Yashini Sivashankar and Lily Zhang.

However, it took Zhang only one game to settle the deal in favour of the Smashers.