RP-SG Mavericks were leading Falcons TTC 7-5 after four matches despite ace Indian paddler Achantha Sharath Kamal's defeat in the inaugural encounter of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) that commenced here today.
Kamal representing Mavericks lost a close three-game encounter to Par Gerell of Falcons 11-6, 8-11, 11-9.
Mavericks pulled things back when India international Suthirtha Mukherjee of Falcons lost in straight games to Sabine Winter. Winter won 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 as Mavericks led by 4-2 games.
Under UTT rules, all matches are best of three and winning team needs to win 14 out of 27 games to win the tie.
In the mixed doubles match that followed, the Falcons pair of Lee Ho Ching and Sanil Sherry pulled back with a 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 against Kamal and Safia Polcanova. The Mavericks still maintained a 5-4 lead even as Falcons narrowed the gap.
However Mavericks extended the lead in the fourth match when Austrian Stefan Fegerl secured a 11-6, 11-9, 9-11 victory.
Earlier, former world chess champion Vishy Anand inaugurated the tournament and played a game with Niraj Bajaj, co-promoter of UTT.
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