India’s Anthony Amalraj and Romania’s Elizabeta Samara posted nerve-wracking victories in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis Powered by Kellogg’s here on Saturday to lift Maharashtra United from the bottom of the table to the second position.

Down 2-7 in the tie against table toppers Dabang Smashers, captain Joao Monteiro of Portugal led the fightback, scoring an upset 2-1 win over World No. 27 Yoshida Masaki.

Amalraj then rode on the momentum to pull off a sensational 3-0 win over Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck.

Samara, however, was the star performer for United, posting victories in both her singles matches. The World No. 19 first overcame 17-year-old Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico 2-1 and then beat local favourite and India’s poster girl Manika Batra 3-0 to give United a well-deserved 12-9 win.

Earlier, cheered on by a houseful crowd, World No. 28 Mori set the ball rolling for the Smashers, trouncing India’s Madhurika Patkar 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-9) in a one-sided contest. 

Sathiyan then picked up a crucial point against a much higher-ranked Kristian Karlsson and set up a 3-0 victory in the mixed doubles match along with Mori.

Playing the last match of the day, with the team scores tied 9-9, Manika started confidently but fumbled during crucial points to lose her way. She lost the first game on golden point and simply couldn’t find her way back into the contest.

Results

Maharashtra United v Dabang Smashers 6-9

Women’s singles: Madhurika Patkar (Ind) lost to Sakura Mori (Jpn) 0-3 (4-11, 8-11, 9-11)

Men’s singles: Kristian Karlsson (Swe) bt G Sathiyan 2-1 (6-11, 11-10, 11-8)

Mixed doubles: Anthony Amalraj (Ind)/ Lily Zhang (USA) lost to G Sathiyan/ S Mori 0-3 (5-11, 6-11, 5-11)

Men’s singles: Joao Monteiro (Por) bt Yoshida Masaki (Jpn) 2-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-9)

Women’s singles: Elizabeta Samara (Rom) bt Adriana Diaz (Pue) 2-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-2)

Men’s’ singles: Anthony Amalraj bt Cedric Nuytinck (Bel) 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-10)

Women’s singles: Elizabeta Samara bt Manika Batra (Ind) 3-0 (11-10, 11-8, 11-9)

How they stand: 1. Dabang Smashers 48 points, 2. Maharashtra United 38 points, 3. RP-SG Mavericks 37 points; 4. Falcons TTC 30 points; 5. Empowerji Challengers 30 points; 6. Warriors TTC 28 points