Dabang Smashers T.T.C. took a commanding 8-4 lead over Maharashtra United after four matches with some solid display in the 10th tie of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
World No. 110 G Sathiyan put Smashers ahead with a stunning 2-1 (11-3, 11-9, 7-11) win over Hong Kong world No. 8 Wong Chun Ting in the men's singles (Foreign v Indian), the day's opening match.
Sathiyan ran away with the opening game and then rallied back to clinch the second. Wong Chun Ting, however, came back strongly to win the third and bag a point for his team.
North Korea world No 19 Kim Song I extended Smashers' lead to 4-2 with a 2-1 (11-2, 11-5, 9-11) victory over Pooja Koparkar in the women's singles (Foreign v Indian).
In-form Kim Song I dominated the Indian world No 279 in the first two games but the Maharashtra lass rallied to win the third game to hand her side a second point.
Next up was mixed doubles (Foreign/Indian pair), and Dabang Smashers T.T.C.'s Anthony Amalraj/ Tetyana Bilenko registered a 2-1 (11-8, 11-4, 4-11) win over Harmeet Desai/ Liu Jia to further their team's lead to 6-3.
China-born Ukraine international Kou Lei, ranked No. 28 in the world, pulled off a thrilling 2-1 (11-10, 11-9, 5-11) win over Wong Chun Ting in the men's singles to give Dabang Smashers T.T.C. a commanding 8-4 lead over Maharashtra United after four matches.