WTT FEEDER | Hansini packs off third seed Yerin

M. Hansini, the teenage prodigy, took a giant stride in her impressive table tennis journey on Friday as she stunned third seed Yoo Yerin of Korea in straight games in the first round of the WTT Feeder series international ranking tournament here on Friday.

Hansini, the 16-year-old teenager from Tamil Nadu, was at her sublime best as she packed off the title contender Yerin 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 in straight games in 24 minutes. She then combined with Sampada Bhiwandkar to upset the third seeded pair of Anusha Kutumbale and Poymantee Baisya 9-11, 15-13, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10 and enter the women’s doubles quarterfinal.

Another contender in women’s singles, second seed Park Gaheyon survived a huge scare, with Taneesha Kotecha almost pulling off a surprise win against the Korean. In a marathon battle that lasted 53 minutes, Taneesha couldn’t convert three match points in the fourth game before succumbing in the decider.

Important results (Round of 32): Men: Sougata Sarkar bt Rajeev Chikanbanjar (Nep) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8; Mudit Dani bt Ved Sheth (USA) 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6; Akash Pal bt Abdulrahman Al Taher 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-1; Ankur Bhattacharjee bt P.B. Abhinandh 11-6, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6; Priyanuj Bhattacharya bt Navid Shams (IRI) 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4.

Women: Park Gahyeon (Kor) bt Taneesha Kotecha 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 15-13, 11-7; Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi (KSA) bt Abhishek Raval 11-8, 11-3, 11-3; Poymantee Baisya bt Kavya Bhatt 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7; Divyanshi Bhowmick bt Suhana Saini 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; Lee Zion (Kor) bt Selena Selvakumar 11-2, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7; M. Hansini bt Yoo Yerin (Kor) 11-8, 11-3, 11-9.