Chennai Lions end RP-SG Mavericks' misery in UTT

Chennai Lions thrashed below-par RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata 11-4 to in their final Ultimate Table Tennis league tie here on Tuesday. The victory took the Lions closer to semi-finals, where U Mumba and Dabang Delhi have already sealed their places.

The Lions won all the four matches, with captain Sharath Kamal alone suffering a rare defeat. They began on a thumping note, with world no. 24 Petrissa Solja of Germany overcoming a fighting world no. 23 Matilda Ekholm of Sweden in the first women's singles encounter.

Portugal's Tiago Apolonia then added two more points to the Lions' kitty, beating Sanil Shetty 2-1 (11-9 11-6 3-11 ). The mixed doubles too proved to be an uneven contest with Sharath Kamal and Petrissa Solja proving to be too strong for Benedikt Duda and Manika Batra.

Sharath-Petrissa beat their rivals 11-4 11-7. India's star player Sharath, however, couldn't complete the kill in the reverse men's singles, losing to Benedikt Duda 1-2 (7-11 11-5 7-11).

In a battle between two Indians in the final women's singles tie, Madhurika Patkar beat Manika Batra 3-0 to end RP-SG Mavericks' campaign.