After spending the better part of the year in lockdown, players and fans alike can finally enjoy some European table tennis league action again. Since moving to Germany three years ago, reigning American champion Kanak Jha, ranked 27th in the world, has been a fixture of the Bundesliga. No longer a boy playing among men, the 20-year-old now plays for TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, captained by world #6 Hugo Calderano of Brazil. Over the years, Jha has had more than one run-in with 23-year-old Kirill Gerassimenko, the world #46 from Kazakhstan. Now playing for SV Werder Bremen, Gerassimenko has more than once sent Jha home early from a tournament. On Monday, the two clashed yet again in league play. The first game saw Jha keep the dangerous Gerassimenko in check with steady pressure from a merciless backhand flick. With both players struggling to establish a rhythm, Jha's aggression was the difference as he pulled it out, 11-8. In game two, Jha built on his aggressive game plan, continuing to attack short balls with the backhand and getting his close-to-the-table forehand counter-looping game dialed in. Gerassimenko, despite his deadly forehand which Jha avoided like the plague, was largely a spectator as the American claimed the second set, 11-6. Upon their third encounter, it was the Kazakhstani who built an early lead at 3-1 with forehand attacks to Jha's body. By the first towel break, however, the American had leveled the game. They continued to trade haymakers until Jha landed the knockout punch at 11-8. Jha's ability to train in Germany during the lockdown, even getting some real competition at the Düsseldorf Masters series, has enabled him to not only maintain but improve his already world-class skill set. He is the 15th seed at next weekend's 2020 ITTF Men's World Cup in Weihai, China. While local favorites Fan Zhendong and Ma Long are heavy favorites, Kanak Jha's recent form proves him to be every bit a contender.

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