Captain Manush Shah led Ahmedabad SG Pipers from the front as the debutants recorded their first win in Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 beating defending champions Goa Challengers on a day of upsets in which U Mumba TT overcame Dabang Delhi TTC despite G. Sathiyan scoring an upset win over World No.20 Quadri Aruna.
Shah beat two-time Olympian Mihai Bobocica 2-1 in their match – after partnering Bernadette Szocs to achieve the same score-line in the mixed doubles – as the team from Ahmedabad beat reigning champions Goa Challengers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.
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Ahmedabad SG Pipers flew off the blocks, courtesy of an outstanding display from Frenchman Lilian Bardet, who made amends for his defeat on Friday to 17-year-old Ankur Bhattacharjee by beating Harmeet Desai 3-0 in the first men’s singles. Bernadette Szocs followed in her teammate’s footsteps, bouncing back from her loss against Ayhika Mukherjee with a sweeping victory over young Yashaswini Ghorpade in the first women’s singles match of the tie.
The mixed doubles followed next, where the pairing of Manush and Szocs outfoxed Harmeet and Yangzi Liu for a 2-1 win, handing the tie to the Season 5 debutants. Following Manush’s win over Bobocica, Reeth Rishya found herself in a position to make history for Ahmedabad SG Pipers by securing the biggest margin of victory in a tie. However, Liu denied Reeth the team record by continuing her unbeaten streak that stretches back to the start of the previous season.
In the day’s earlier tie, U Mumba TT recorded their first-ever win in UTT over Dabang Delhi TTC by 9-6. The match-up between the metropolises started with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran upsetting World No. 20 Quadri Aruna before Sutirtha Mukherjee and the pairing of Manav Thakkar and Maria Xiao wrested control from the team from Delhi.
Manav Thakkar returned to beat debutant Andreas Levenko, winning the tie for U Mumba TT, while Orawan Paranang defeated Xiao to reduce the weight of the loss.
Sunday’s ties will see a quick turnaround for the teams from Delhi and Mumbai, following their bout on Sunday. Dabang Delhi TTC are scheduled to play hosts Chennai Lions while U Mumba TT are set to face Jaipur Patriots.
UTT 2024, the franchise-based league promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and being played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India).
Detailed scores:
Ahmedabad SG Pipers bt Goa Challengers 10-5: Lilian Bardet bt Harmeet Desai 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-6); Bernadette Szocs bt Yashaswini Ghorpade 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-3); Manush/Szocs bt Harmeet/Liu 2-1 (4-11, 11-10, 11-9); Manush Shah bt Mihai Bobocica 2-1 (11-7, 11-7, 10-11); Reeth Rishya lost to Yangzi Liu 0-3 (6-11, 5-11, 5-11)
U Mumba TT bt Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6: Quadri Aruna lost to Sathiyan G. 1-2 (11-4, 9-11, 9-11); Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-4); Manav/Xiao bt Sathiyan/Orawan 2-1 (11-8, 11-9, 8-11); Manav Thakkar bt Andreas Levenko 2-1 (11-5, 11-4, 7-11); Maria Xiao lost to Orawan Paranag 1-2 (11-10, 9-11, 5-11)
