The inaugural edition of CEAT UTT witnessed many upsets where underdogs got the better off the giants with pure grit and determination. Let’s now see some of the shocking defeats in the tournament that kept us on the edge of our seats.

Madhurika Patkar vs Fu Yu (11-9, 7-11, 11-10)

Madhurika Patkar became the first Indian woman to beat a foreign player at CEAT UTT, when she overpowered veteran Fu Yu in the tenth Tie of the tournament. Prior to the Match, the Indian women were defeated 9 times by the foreign players but Patkar put an end to that run by overcoming the Portuguese paddler in one of the most closely fought encounters in CEAT UTT.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran vs Wong Chun Ting (11-3, 11-9, 7-11)

The talented Chennai paddler has conquered all five opponents he has faced, but out of those, the victory against tournament’s highest seed Wong Chun Ting would probably turn out to be the best. He came up with a dominating performance and bagged the first Game with ease, and although Ting responded well in the next Game, he couldn’t get the better off the Indian, as Sathiyan won it 11-9. Ting’s loss in the opening Match pushed DHFL Maharashtra United on the backfoot and they eventually lost the Tie 16-11.

Sanil Shetty vs Joao Monteiro (11-6, 11-8, 11-10)

Joao Monteiro didn’t have a great outing at CEAT UTT and his loss against India’s Sanil Shetty only rubbed salt to his wounds. Ranked 161 in the world, the Mumbai paddler produced many astonishing performances and one of those came against the Monteiro. The left-handed Portuguese had no answer to Shetty’s attacking table tennis and eventually capitulated to the Indian 11-6, 11-8 and 11-10.

Manika Batra vs Kim Song I (11-9, 11-9, 4-11)

With many jaw dropping performances, Manika Batra has surely been a big positive for India in the women’s division. She tasted success against some of the top players around but her win against Olympic-bronze medallist Kim Song I in front of her home crowd was really the icing on the cake. It was one of the most nerve-wracking encounters, as both players went neck and neck in the first two Games, but Batra held her nerve and won it eventually.