by Neha Aggarwal
Ronit Bhanja won the match 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 4-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8.
“It was a quiet hard match. I was leading 2-0 but then I gave up three games in a row. I am glad that I won at the end” said Bhanja.
He continued, “I beat him in Chinese Taipei Open in 2016 which gave me confidence. I was quiet aggressive today. His attack is so strong but he had problems when I returned the balls with less spin. My aim was to be consistent on the table and that helped me win!”
Bhanja’s teammate Manav Vikash Thakkar also brought home a million smiles as he beat Australia’s Rohan Dhooria in a comfortable 4-0 margin. Thakkar’s clever game play was evident as he changed the pace often to keep Dhooria confused. Thakkar won 11-4, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3.
Top seed Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic sailed smooth in the first round winning over USA’s Victor Liu in five games. He gave up only the second game 7-11 but had a comfortable run in the rest of the games. He won 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
In group two, Japan’s Yukiya Uda, seeded number two in the tournament had no problems against Thailand’s Yanapong Panagitgun. He beat Panagitgun in five games 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 to prove his mettle. The other Japanese sensation, Koyo Kanamitsu also had a comfortable outing in the round one matches as he beat Qatar’s Mohammed Abdulwahhab 4-1 (11-4, 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4).
Round two matches commence in the evening. Watch all the thrilling action LIVE from Indore only on ITTF’s YouTube channel.
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