Sanil shocks World No 22 Quadri as Falcons score big win in UTT
Sanil then paired up with Bernadette Szocs to engineer another crucial victory 3-0 (11-4 11-7 11-9) over the formidable duo of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sofia Polcanova. His double wins helped Falcons TTC jump into a comfortable 8-1 lead after the first three matches.
Captain Liam Pitchford too played his part winning both his singles 2-1 each.
Matilda Ekholm and Bernadette also won to extend their domination over the Warriors. In the last match Hana Matelova won 2-1 against Sutirtha Mukherjee for Warriors only success of the evening.
The 23-year-old Shetty ranked 88 places below Quadri staged a brilliant fightback in the third game to seal a well-deserved win the best in his career.
With the clash tied 1-1 after the first two games and down 7-10 he attacked fearlessly to take three straight points.
He won the golden point too using his powerful forehand smash to good effect for a 2-1 win.
Sanil began on a bright note by pocketing the first game 11-6 only to find the 2018 Commonwealth Games double silver medallist levelling the scores 1-1.
Nigeria s Quadri appeared to have put the game beyond the Indian s reach by taking a decisive lead but Shetty pulled off a coup with his wristy flicks and returns.
Earlier Matilda provided a fluent start to the defending champions with an easy 3-0 (11-4 11-3 11-5) win over Pooja Sahasrabuddhe. The World No 35 Swede was too strong for the 26-year-old Indian.
Pitchford and Soczs powered Falcons march by upstaging higher ranked players. While World No 49 Pitchford downed World No 15 Chih Yuan Chuang 2-1 (10-11 11-5 11-7) Bernadette ranked World No 36 upset World No 18 Sofia Polcanova (10-11 11-10 11-10) in a thriller with all three games being decided by the golden point.
Pitchford also won the battle of captains by defeating World No 47 Sharath Kamal 2-1 (11-9 11-4 10-11).
--IANS tri/vd
