Izaac and Maria shine, Dabang exacts revenge against Challengers
Riding on a sterling show by Quek Izaac up front and Maria Xiao in the last rubber, Dabang Delhi TTC avenged last year's final loss against defending champion Goa Challengers in the sixth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis.
The 9-6 victory at the EKA Arena on Wednesday not only brought a smile to captain G. Sathiyan's face — despite being beaten by arch rival Harmeet Desai in his singles affair — but also catapulted the Delhi outfit to the top of the standings.
Izaac – the Singaporean teenager – set the tone for Dabang by overcoming veteran Tiago Apolonia, the five-time Olympian, in the first match.
Despite being ranked much lower than the Portugal paddler, Izaac's raw power and quick reflexes helped him win all three games in the battle between the youngest and oldest overseas participants of the season.
Zeng Jian – Izaac's fellow Singaporean – then brought parity to the scoreline by handing Dabang's Diya Chitale a lesson in consistently finishing off rallies.
Sathiyan and Maria then teamed up to defeat Harmeet and Zeng before Harmeet levelled the scoreline at six games apiece after trailing 1-0.
Harmeet upped the ante and increased his pace substantially to force Sathiyan into errors at key moments.
But Maria, the Spaniard, cruised past UTT debutant Sayali Wani — who was preferred ahead of Krittwika Sinha Roy — in the deciding rubber to extend Dabang's points tally to 19.
Later, Reeth Rishya's clean slate in the last women's singles helped PBG Pune Jaguars outplay Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5 in the night match and join Dabang Delhi as joint leaders in the points table.
The results: Dabang Delhi TTC bt Dempo Goa Challengers 9-6 (Quek Izaac bt Tiago Apolonia 11-8, 11-9, 11-9; Diya Chitale lost to Zeng Jian 9-11, 5-11, 6-11; Maria Xiao & G. Sathiyan bt Zeng & Harmeet Desai 8-11, 11-5, 11-8; Sathiyan lost to Harmeet 11-8, 9-11, 9-11; Maria bt Sayali Wani 11-3, 11-7, 11-6).
PBG Pune Jaguars bt Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5 (Alvaro Robles bt Quadri Aruna 10-11, 11-10, 11-10; Dina Meshref bt Adriana Diaz 11-8, 1-11, 11-10; Dina & Anirban Ghosh bt Diaz & Ankur Bhattacharjee 11-9, 11-9, 7-11; Anirban lost to Ankur 8-11, 7-11, 11-8; Reeth Rishya bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar 11-9, 11-8, 11-8).
Thursday's fixtures: Jaipur Patriots vs U Mumba TT (5 p.m.); Stanley's Chennai Lions vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers (7.30 p.m.).
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