Panaji (Goa), July 17 (IANS) Two-time champions Dempo Goa Challengers recorded a commanding 12-3 victory over Dabang Delhi TTC in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 on Friday, equalling the biggest margin of victory in the five-match format and strengthening their grip at the top of the standings at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Taleigao near Panaji.
Earlier in the day, Ayhika Mukherjee became the first player to defeat Sofia Polcanova this season as HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades registered a crucial 9-6 victory over Ahmedabad APL Pipers to boost their playoff hopes.
Goa’s victory was built on absolute domination throughout, with Alvaro Robles, Abhinandh PB, Syndrela Das, and Bernadette Szocs all winning their respective singles matches. Robles and Das also combined to hand Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Maria Xiao their second successive Mixed Doubles defeat. Kolkata, meanwhile, recovered from an early deficit through a decisive mixed doubles win, a clinical Eduard Ionescu performance, and Ayhika’s landmark comeback against Polcanova.
Unbeaten ahead of the tie, Goa set the tone immediately as Robles swept aside Sathiyan in straight games before Syndrela edged fellow teenager Divyanshi Bhowmick in a high-quality contest between two of the league’s and the country’s brightest young prospects. Robles and Syndrela then combined superbly in the mixed doubles, overpowering the normally formidable pairing of Sathiyan and Xiao across the opening two games to stretch Goa’s advantage.
Abhinandh continued his remarkable unbeaten run with another commanding straight-games victory, this time over Youssef Abdelaziz, before reigning MVP Bernadette completed the rout by defeating Xiao. Abhinandh picked up the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie, the Indian Player of the Tie, and the Bisleri Shot of the Tie awards, while Robles was named the Foreign Player of the Tie.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), the UTT features 42 players from around the world, including 14 Olympians, while continuing to strengthen the Indian table tennis ecosystem through elite competition and year-round development initiatives.
In the day’s first tie, Ahmedabad made the brighter start as Adrien Rassenfosse edged Ankur Bhattacharjee in a dramatic contest, winning the final two games on Golden Point, before Manika Batra overcame Zeng Jian in another three-game battle to hand the Pipers an early advantage.
Kolkata responded emphatically. Ankur and Ayhika dominated the mixed doubles before Ionescu levelled the tie with a commanding straight-games victory over Payas Jain. Ayhika then completed a memorable comeback, recovering after losing the opening game to become the first player to defeat Polcanova this season and seal Kolkata’s second victory of the campaign. Ionescu was named both the ChatGPT Match IQ Player and Foreign Player of the Tie, while Ayhika claimed Indian Player of the Tie honours. Manika earned the Bisleri Shot of the Tie.
Earlier, UTT Juniors, Butterfly UTT’s grassroots competition running alongside Season 7, saw Dabang Delhi TTC defeat PBG Pune Jaguars 6-3 to seal their place in the semifinals. The result confirmed the final four lineup, with Delhi joining UP Prometheans, U Mumba TT, and Dempo Goa Challengers in the knockout stage.
Final score:
HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades 9-6 Ahmedabad APL Pipers
Ankur Bhattacharjee lost to Adrien Rassenfosse 1-2 (11-10, 10-11, 10-11)
Zeng Jian lost to Manika Batra 1-2 (7-11, 11-6, 10-11)
Ankur Bhattacharjee/Ayhika Mukherjee bt. Payas Jain/Sofia Polcanova 2-1 (11-9, 11-3, 4-11)
Eduard Ionescu bt. Payas Jain 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-7)
Ayhika Mukherjee bt. Sofia Polcanova 2-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-3)
Dempo Goa Challengers 12-3 Dabang Delhi TTC
Alvaro Robles bt. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9)
Syndrela Das bt. Divyanshi Bhowmick 2-1 (11-9, 10-11, 11-4)
Alvaro Robles/Syndrela Das bt. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao 2-1 (11-8, 11-5, 9-11)
Abhinandh P.B bt. Youssef Abdelaziz 3-0 (11-4, 11-10, 11-8)
Bernadette Szocs bt. Maria Xiao 2-1 (11-5, 11-10, 10-11)
–IANS
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