UTT Season 6: Ahmedabad SG Pipers look to bounce back against momentum-carrying Kolkata ThunderBlades
Kolkata's victory saw them move into the playoff spots, occupying fourth with 29 points. Goa, with six more game wins on the board, moved level on points with leaders Jaipur Patriots and U Mumba TT, as per UTT.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, UTT continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, will take place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena.
The tie opened with a gripping clash between two of the league's best: Goa captain Harmeet Desai took the opening game 11-10 after a stunning comeback from 4-9 down, but Aruna fought back with relentless aggression to take the next two games and hand Harmeet his first singles loss of the season.
Adriana Diaz followed with a dominant 3-0 win over Krittwika Sinha Roy, highlighted by a jaw-dropping defensive rally turned match point winner, which earned her the Shots of the Tie award.
Ankur and Diaz kept the momentum alive in the doubles, edging Harmeet and Zeng Jian in a tight 2-1 win, their first of the season as a pair. Ankur returned to the table and showcased his class, coming back from a game down to overwhelm Ronit Bhanja 11-1 in the decider, maintaining his unbeaten start. Though Zeng gave Goa a strong finish with a dominant 3-0 win over Selena Selvakumar--extending her unbeaten record to 4-0--it was not enough to prevent a second defeat.
For their efforts, Ankur and Diaz were named the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie, respectively.
It was double delight for Kolkata ThunderBlades, as they claimed the inaugural title at the Dream UTT Juniors-a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation-earlier in the day, with a 5-2 win over U Mumba TT.
Ritvik Gupta started the final with a win in the singles rubber, before combining with Swara Karmakar to help Kolkata into a 4-2 lead. Swara secured the remaining point in her match to seal the title. Kolkata walked away with the INR 2 lakh prize for first place, while U Mumba earned INR 1 lakh as runners-up.
Final Scores
Kolkata ThunderBlades 9-6 Dempo Goa Challengers
Quadri Aruna bt. Harmeet Desai 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-6)Adriana Diaz bt. Krittwika Sinha Roy 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-6)Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz bt. Harmeet Desai/Zeng Jian 2-1 (11-10, 9-11, 11-7)Ankur Bhattacharjee bt. Ronit Bhanja 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-1)Selena Selvakumar lost to Zeng Jian 0-3 (4-11, 6-11, 4-11). (ANI)
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