The battle between defending champion Goa Challengers and U Mumba TT was expected to be a high-voltage clash at the business end of the Ultimate Table Tennis league stage as two semifinal spots (among four teams) were up for grabs.
The match lived up to its billing as the Challengers edged past U Mumba 8-7 to finish with 37 points. The latter rounded off its engagements a point behind. However, both teams will have to wait and keep a close watch on the proceedings at the Nehru Indoor Stadium for the next two days.
Yashaswini Ghorpade — the GenNext representative of India’s women paddlers specialising with long-pimpled backhand rubbers — gave the Challengers a reason to celebrate by stunning Sutirtha Mukherjee in the final contest. However, Sutirtha, after losing a golden point in the second game, made amends in the last one with a strong backhand return on golden point. That point could prove crucial ahead of the last two league fixtures. Puneri Paltan Table Tennis (28) will face Chennai Lions (25) and Ahmedabad SG Pipers (30) will take on Jaipur Patriots (25) on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Yashaswini produced a strong display against Sutirtha, who adapts fairly well against long pimples. The 19-year-old from Bengaluru used her backhand down-the-line shots to exploit Sutirtha’s forehand corner.
Had Yangzi Liu, Goa’s in-form player, not lost to southpaw Maria Xiao in singles, Challengers would have run away with the tie. Yangzi paired with Harmeet Desai to clinch the mixed doubles rubber and spark a revival.
The results: U Mumba TT lost to Athlead Goa Challengers 7-8 (Quadri Aruna bt Harmeet Desai 11-7, 4-11, 11-10; Maria Xiao bt Yangzi Liu 9-11, 11-10, 11-9; Manav Thakkar & Maria lost to Harmeet & Yangzi 6-11, 11-10, 7-11; Manav lost to Mihai Bobocica 6-11, 8-11,11-7; Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Yashaswini Ghorpade 8-11, 10-11, 11-10).
The standings: PBG Bengaluru Smashers 48 points (5 ties); Dabang Delhi TTC 41 (5); Athlead Goa Challengers 37 (5); U Mumba TT 36 (5); Ahmedabad SG Pipers 30 (4); Puneri Paltan TT 28 (4); Chennai Lions 25 (4); Jaipur Patriots 25 (4).
