The top-seeded Indian, G Sathiyan beat Yevhen Ryshchepa of Ukraine in straight sets 11-9, 11-6, 11-6,14-12 in the final and bagged his third international men’s singles title in the Czech International at Olomouc in the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.
Earlier in the semifinals, The Indian star paddler defeated Truls Moregard of Sweden in straight sets 11-4, 11-8, 8-2. Truls Moregardh retired hurt midway due to back pain in the third game of the semifinal. In the quarterfinal, Sathiyan defeated Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alkhadrawi.
Sathiyan wins third international singles title
This is his third ITTF Challenger title following triumphs in Belgium Open 2016 and Spanish Open 2017. In 2016, Sathiyan defeated the Nuytinck Cedric of Belgium with a 4-0 score in the final. He became the first Indian table tennis player to win an ITTF event on European soil. And then in the 2017 Spanish open, he created history by becoming the first Indian Table Tennis player ever to win two ITTF pro tour titles.
“I’m extremely happy to win the men’s singles title in a dominant way and without dropping a set. This wait was worth it to lift my third ITTF title after a gap of four year,” said Sathiyan
Last week, Sathiyan and Manika Batra won the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender in Budapest. The duo gets the better of Nandor Ecseki and Dora Madarasz 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6 to clinch the mixed doubles title. Manika and Sathiyan also became the first Indian mixed pair to win an international world Tour title at Budapest.