Sreeja, Yashansh steer Patriots into the final
After a gruelling battle of 160 minutes, the longest match of the tournament so far, riding on Sreeja Akula avenging her National championship final loss against Diya Chitale in what was the deciding game of the semifinal, the Patriots edged past the most consistent outfit in UTT 8-7 and enter its maiden final.
The match started with an all-overseas singles ties in men's and women's singles. None of the singles ended up being an entertaining affair to the largest turnout at the EKA Arena over the last two weeks, with hardly any long rallies at play.
But with the teams tied at three points apiece, in a race to eight points format for the knockout, the semifinal was wide open. Britt Eerland and Jeet Chandra proved to be a surprisingly competitive combination for Maria Xioao and G. Sathiyan. Had Jeet not attempted too many flashy winners and instead focussed on keeping the ball in play, the Patriots may have surged ahead with all-Indian singles affairs remaining.
Yashansh Malik then stuck to his recent superior track record against G. Sathiyan. Rather than attempting to breach the defensive wall of Sathiyan, Yashansh slowed the game down, and creating surprising angles at crunch moments.
Trailing 10-7 in the first game, Yashansh had a four-point streak to close out the match. When Sathiyan snatched the last game, it meant the finalist was going to be decided on the basis of the repeat of the National Championship women's singles final.
Familiar foes that Diya and Sreeja are, it boiled down to Diya's ability to keep her attack going and passing Sreeja through the forehand corner. While Sreeja held her fort and forced Diya into errors in the decider, a forehand top-spin winner on the turn at 10-9 sealed the deal for the Patriots.
The result: Jaipur Patriots bt Dabang Delhi TTC 8-7 (Kanak Jha bt Quek Izaac 7-11, 11-10, 11-3; Britt Eerland lost to Maria Xiao 6-11, 11-6, 8-11; Eerland & Jeet Chandra lost to Maria & G. Sathiyan 11-8, 9-11, 10-11; Yashansh Malik bt G. Sathiyan 11-10, 11-9, 6-11; Sreeja Akula bt Diya Chitale 11-9, 6-11, 11-9).
Saturday's semifinal: Dempo Goa Challengers vs U Mumba TT (7.30 p.m.).
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