Table tennis sensation Manika Batra shocked world number 18 Sofia Polcanova in a thrilling duel to give Dabang Smashers TTC an early lead against Warriors TTC in the Ceat Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here today.
The sizeable weekend crowd that had turned up at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, to cheer the 2018 Commonwealth Games star got their money's worth as 23-year-old Manika Batra upstaged the Austrian, ranked 62 spots higher, 2-1 (11-10, 5-11, 11-10).
Two of the three games were decided by the golden point' with Manika Batra, who is ranked 80th, serving on both occasions to squeeze in the winners. She served well and was quite effective with her backhand that earned her five points. In all, Manika Batra gained 14 points on serve to unsettle her left-handed rival.
Manika Batra had won a record four medals at the Gold Coast Games including two gold.
Another crowd favourite Sharath Kamal, however, failed to get past Japanese Yoshida Masaki (world no. 27) with the Warriors captain going down 1-2 (11-7, 8-11, 8-11) in a highly entertaining battle that was peppered with long rallies.
The 35-year-old Indian's loss meant Warriors had lost both their opening singles and Dabang had gained a 4-2 lead on points.