Manav Thakkar beat his usual men’s doubles partner, Manush Shah two games to one in the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. But his win wasn’t enough to lead U Mumba TT to victory as debutants Ahmedabad SG Pipers made a solid recovery in the following matches, registering their second win on the bounce here.
Captains of their respective teams, Manav and Manush headed to the table first to contest the opening match of the tie, a men’s singles. Manav seized the advantage early, outfoxing Manush to win Game 1 11-2. He took the subsequent game 11-9, while Manush recovered to reduce the deficit with a Game 3 triumph.
Manush’s victory in Game 3 was crucial, as it allowed Reeth Rishya to level the tie for Ahmedabad SG Pipers with a 2-1 win over U Mumba TT’s Sutirtha Mukherjee. Manush then partnered with Bernadette Szocs in the mixed doubles, and the pair swept away U Mumba TT’s pairing of Manav and Maria Xiao, 3-0, sealing the final point of the thumping triumph with a brilliant combination move.
Quadri Aruna gave U Mumba TT a way back into the tie with an important 2-1 win over Lilian Bardet. However, Szocs, despite losing her first game to Xiao, lifted the team from Ahmedabad over the line by winning the second. The league’s highest-ranked player later took the third game, too, increasing the margin of victory.
For her win against Sutirtha in Match 2, Reeth took home the Indian Player of the Tie and Shot of the Tie honours. Meanwhile Szocs, for her display in singles and doubles, laid claim to the Foreign Player of the Tie and the ACT Tally of the Tie awards.
Wednesday’s sole tie will see the Dabang Delhi TTC take on Goa Challengers with both teams looking to bounce back from a defeat in UTT 2024.
UTT 2024, the franchise-based league promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India).
Detailed scores:
Ahmedabad SG Pipers bt U Mumba TT 9-6: Manush Shah lost to Manav Thakkar 1-2 (2-11, 9-11, 11-8); Reeth Rishya bt Sutirtha Mukherjee 2-1 (5-11, 11-8, 11-7); Manush/Szocs bt Manav/Xiao 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-8); Lilian Bardet lost to Quadri Aruna 1-2 (5-11, 11-9, 9-11); Bernadette Szocs bt Maria Xiao 2-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-6).