It was the marquee clash of the Ultimate Table Tennis’ (UTT’s) fifth edition so far. Not because the host was in action on a Saturday night but because it was the repeat of the season four.
Despite a sizeable turnout trying to encourage the struggling Chennai Lions, Goa Challengers repeated the last year’s final heroics. With captain Harmeet Desai and youngster Yashaswini Ghorpade ending the tie on a high, the convincing 9-6 win brightened the Challengers’ chances of progressing to the knockouts.
Earlier in the evening, Bengaluru Smashers came back in the last two singles with a bang to seal a knockouts berth with its fourth victory in as many outings, pipping Ahmedabad SG Pipers 9-6. Trailing 6-3 after the mixed doubles, overseas stars Alvaro Robles and Lily Zhang did not concede a single game against Manush Shah and Krittwika Sinha Roy, respectively, to seal the deal.
Later in the night, the Lions lost the way in the mixed doubles after veteran A. Sharath Kamal and an on-song Sakura Mori had put the team 4-2 ahead. Had Sakura not missed a forehand top-spin at 10-9 in the second game of the mixed doubles and Sharath not netted a backhand top-spin on the golden point, Lions would have maintained their stronghold on the tie.
But Challengers bounced back to finish off with a bang with teenager Yashaswini Ghorpade overcoming veteran Mouma Das in the decider.
The results: PBG Bengaluru Smashers bt Ahmedabad SG Pipers 9-6 (A. Amalraj lost to Lilian Bardet 9-11, 10-11, 11-10; Manika Batra lost to Bernadette Szocs 11-7, 9-11, 7-11; Manika & Alvaro Robles lost to Szocs & Manush Shah 3-11, 11-7, 8-11; Alvaro Robles bt Manush Shah 11-8, 11-7, 11-8; Lily Zhang bt Krittwika Sinha Roy 11-5, 11-8, 11-10).
Chennai Lions lost to Athlead Goa Challengers 6-9 (A. Sharath Kamal bt Mihai Bobocica 11-6, 11-10, 6-11; Sakura Mori bt Yangzi Liu 11-9, 11-9, 9-11; Sharath & Sakura lost to Harmeet Desai & Yangzi 9-11, 10-11, 7-11; Jules Rolland lost to Harmeet 11-6, 7-11, 5-11; Mouma Das lost to Yashaswini Ghorpade 5-11, 8-11, 11-3).
The standings: PBG Bengaluru Smashers 41 points(4 ties); Dabang Delhi TTC 33(4); Ahmedabad SG Pipers 30(4); U Mumba TT 29(4); Athlead Goa Challengers 29(4); Chennai Lions 25(4); Jaipur Patriots 19(3); Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 19(3).
