Sathiyan overcomes Freitas, enters last 16 of Austrian Open

Linz (Austria), Nov 9: Star Indian paddler G.Sathiyan continued his giant-killing run in the 2018 ITTF World Tour  Platinum Austrian Open, slaying World No. 16 Marcos Freitas of Portugal here.

Sathiyan, the lone Indian in the main draw, had to play out of his skin to down Freitas 4-3 and enter the Round of 16 in this elite Platinum tournament late on Thursday night.

Ranked No. 35 currently, the Indian lost the first game 4-11 but fought back in his usual aggressive way, winning the next games 11-9, 11-9.

But the Portuguese was not ready to give up, clawing his way back into the contest by clinching the next two games 11-8, 11-6.

A valiant Sathiyan managed to level the match 3-3, battling to a 11-9 victory. With everything to play for in the decider, he showed great temperament to race to a 11-7 win for a sensational victory.

He next plays China's World No. 2 Xu Xin for a place in the quarter-finals.