Sayali held her nerve against Manika.
| Photo Credit: BUTTERFLYUTT
Sayali Wani may be a distant World No. 151 compared to Manika Batra’s 51, but rankings matter little when the pressure is at its peak. The 20-year-old displayed composure beyond her years, producing one of the biggest upsets of Ultimate Table Tennis Season-7 by outwitting the 31-year-old veteran, a three-time Olympian and a multiple Commonwealth Games medallist, in a gripping three-game decider.
With the tie hanging in the balance (6-6), Sayali held her nerve to clinch a memorable 2-1 victory. The 8-7 verdict sealed UP Prometheans’ maiden win in the league over Ahmedabad APL Pipers at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sayali saved three match points in the third and final game to script one of her memorable victories, making it a hat-tricks of defeats for Manika.
Ahmedabad looked to be in control after pocketing the opening two matches. Payas Jain defeated Sudhanshu Grover by two games to one before Sofia Polcanova overcame Yangzi Liu 2-1, giving Ahmedabad a 4-2 lead heading into the mixed doubles.
But the momentum shifted dramatically in the third match as UP’s Swastika Ghosh and Ricardo Walther and produced one of the biggest upsets of the season.
The Indo-German pair stunned the previously unbeaten combination of Polcanova and Payas, cruising to a 3-0 victory, putting UP back in contention as it took a 5-4 lead.
Ahmedabad’s Adrien Rassenfose rose to the occasion, winning his first match of the season, by overcoming a tough challenge from Walther to make it 6-6. Sayali then produced a nerveless display.
The result: UP Prometheans bt Ahmedabad APL Pipers 8-7 (Sudhanshu Grover lost to Payas Jain 11-5, 9-11, 5-11; Yangzi Liu lost to Sofia Polcanova 11-3, 10-11, 6-11; Ricardo Walther & Swastika Ghosh bt Polcanova & Payas 11-9, 11-10, 11-10; Walther lost to Adrien Rassenfosse 6-11, 9-11, 11-9; Sayali Wani bt Manika Batra 5-11, 11-8, 11-10).
Published – July 14, 2026 10:52 pm IST
