U Mumba crowned Ultimate Table Tennis champions
U Mumba delivered a dominant performance to defeat Jaipur Patriots 8-4 and capture the Ultimate Table Tennis title here on Sunday.
Despite a strong start by the Patriots with skipper Kanak Jha winning the opening game 11-4 against Lilian Bardet, the Frenchman bounced back impressively to take the next two games (11-5, 11-7), turning the momentum in U Mumba's favour.
Then, Mumba captain and World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs emerged as the star of the night, ending Sreeja Akula's unbeaten run with a 2-1 win.
Szocs showcased her variety in serves and kept her composure in long rallies to clinch the decider 11-5.
Szocs then teamed up with Akash Pal for a dominant 3-0 victory in the mixed doubles against Jeet Chandra and Britt Eerland, extending U Mumba's lead.
Chandra pulled one back for Jaipur with a 2-1 win over P B Abhinandh, but it was not enough to stop U Mumba.
U Mumba earned Rs 60 lakh as champions, while runners-up Jaipur Patriots took home Rs 40 lakh. Semifinalists Dabang Delhi TTC and the Challengers received Rs 17.5 lakh each.
For their performances in the final, Akash and Szocs were named the Indian and Foreign Player of the Final, respectively, while Jeet Chandra claimed the Shot of the Final.
Although Yashaswini Ghorpade didn't feature in the final, her standout semi-final display epitomised U Mumba's collective strength this season—hallmarks of a campaign expertly managed from the dugout by coaches John Murphy and Jay Modak.
Dempo Goa Challengers' skipper Harmeet Desai and U Mumba TT captain Bernadette Szocs were named the Male and Female MVPs of UTT Season 6, respectively, for their standout performances, while the Shot of the League went to Adriana Diaz for her stunning winner against Krittwika Sinha Roy in Kolkata ThunderBlades' league stage tie against Goa.
All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, took place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena.
Results (Final)
U Mumba 8-4 Jaipur Patriots [Lilian Bardet b Kanak Jha 2-1 (4-11, 11-5, 11-7); Bernadette Szocs b Sreeja Akula 2-1 (11-9, 10-11, 11-5); Akash Pal/Bernadette Szocs b Jeet Chandra/Britt Eerland 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-5); P B Abhinandh lost to Jeet Chandra 1-2 (5-11, 8-11, 11-8)].
(With agency inputs)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Abhijeet Gupta triumphs in Delhi Open chess tournament
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta executed a quick draw in the tenth round against Aronyak Ghosh and clinched the title with 8.5 points in the 21st Delhi GM Open chess tournament at the Tivoli Gardens, Chhattarpur, on Saturday. It was a 12-move draw following a repetition of the position thrice that ensured the fourth title in the tournament for the 35-year-old Abhijeet. The title fetched a cash prize of Rs.7,00,000 for Abhijeet who won seven matches and drew the other three. There were five players tied on eight points, but as per the tie-break score, Mihail Nikitenko, Diptayan Ghosh, Aronyak Ghosh, Aditya Samant and Duc Hoa Nguyen were placed second to sixth in that order. The second placing was worth Rs.6,00,000 while the reduction of prize money by Rs.1,00,000 every spot meant Rs.2,00,000 for the sixth place. There were as many as 16 players tied on 7.5 points, but the tie-break rule categorised them in order, fetching Rs.1,00,000 for the seventh to tenth place. Top seed SL Narayanan finished seventh and pocketed Rs.1,00,000. There was cash prize up to the 55th spot in the tournament that carried an overall prize purse of Rs.1.21 crore, spread over three sections. In the category of the lowest rated players, Dinesh Kumar won the first prize of Rs.4,00,000. He was followed by Naitik Sethi and M Sibi who won Rs.3,00,000 and Rs.2,00,000 respectively. The results (tenth round): Abhijeet Gupta 8.5 drew with Aronyak Ghosh 8; S.L. Narayanan 7.5 drew with Aditya Samant 8; Diptayan Ghosh 8 bt Adarsh Sriram 7; Semetei Tegin 7.5 drew with Karthik Venkataraman 7.5; Manuel Petrosyan 7.5 drew with Mamikon Gharibyan 7.5; Luka Paichadze 7.5 drew with Neelash Saha 7.5; Duc Hoa Nguyen 8 bt Vitaly Sivuk 7; S. Nitin lost to Mihail Nikitenko 8; Deepan Chakkravarthy 7 drew with Van Huy Nguyen 7.5; Levan Pantsulaia 6.5 lost to Saravana Krishnan 7.5; David Gochelashvili 6.5 lost to Arsen Davtyan 7.5; P. Karthikeyan 7 drew with Harsh Suresh 7; Mikulas Manik 7 drew with Hari Madhavan 7; Uurtsaikh Agibileg 7.5 bt Viresh Sharnarthi 6.5; Alexander Slizhevsky 6.5 lost to Paras Bhoir 7.5.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Australia's ultimate gesture for India hockey great Manpreet Singh: Guard of honour, signed jersey on 400th appearance
When 19-year-old Manpreet Singh sprinted across the turf wearing the senior Indian team jersey for the first time in 2011, Indian hockey was in its best health. Fourteen years later, the team has gone through multiple transitions and has vastly improved, winning back-to-back Olympic bronze medals at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. At the helm of it all was Manpreet, towering through the midfield region. June 15, 2015, marked another red letter in the illustrious career of Manpreet Singh. He became only the second Indian to play 400 international matches in the FIH Pro League match against Australia in Antwerp, Belgium. His biggest reward? The respect shown to him by the Australian players, who lined up along with the Indian players and gave Manpreet a Guard of Honour as he made his way off the pitch with a big smile. Generally, a guard of honour is given to an athlete playing his last match but Australia decided to bestow the honour on Manpreet on his 400th appearance. Australian midfielder Eddie Ockenden, a proud member of the 400 club, which has only eight members, including Manpreet, also presented him with a signed Australian jersey. Hailing from Mithapur, Punjab, a region deeply embedded in Indian hockey folklore, 33-year-old Manpreet Singh has been the heartbeat of India's midfield for over a decade. Over the course of his illustrious career, Manpreet has helped India clinch multiple major titles, including: 4 Asian Champions Trophy gold medals (2013, 2018, 2023, 2024) 2 Asian Games gold medals (2014, 2023) 2 Olympic bronze medals (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) 2 Commonwealth Games silver medals (2014, 2022) Podium finishes in the FIH World League (2014–15, 2016–17) and Hockey Champions Trophy (2018) He has also been the recipient of numerous individual accolades, including the Arjuna Award (2018), FIH Men's Player of the Year (2019), and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2021), among others. Speaking on the achievement, an emotional Manpreet said: 'I still remember the goosebumps I felt in my debut game. To be standing here, 400 games later, is beyond anything I imagined. This milestone is shared with every coach who pushed me, every teammate who backed me, and every fan who believed in me when I needed it most. I'm still learning, still growing — and I play with the same hunger today as I did at 19.' Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey, who himself holds the national record for the most international appearances, lauded Manpreet's consistency and dedication: 'Very few athletes achieve this level of endurance. Manpreet has been the spine of Indian hockey through its most transformative decade. His fitness, leadership, and composure under pressure set him apart. We are proud to see him carry forward the legacy with such grace.' Manpreet's milestone day, however, did not change India's fortunes in the FIH Pro League as they went down 2-3. It was goals by Tim Brand (4'), Blake Govers (5') and Cooper Burns (18') that set up the victory for Australia, while Sanjay (3') and Dilpreet Singh (36') scored for India.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
England favoured but India set to challenge hard, say ex-cricketers
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes India will have a strong chance of winning the upcoming Test series against England if they can clinch the games in Leeds and Manchester, but South African pace great Dale Steyn has backed the hosts to triumph 3-2 in the five-match contest. India and England kick off their new World Test Championship cycle with the five-match series, starting with the first game in Leeds on Friday. Manchester will host the fourth Test from July 23. "I don't think England bowlers are that good, they have got a number of injuries and a number of retirees as well, that will be the challenge," Hayden said on 'JioHotstar'. "The northern Test matches when it's zipping around that will be key, win that one and it could well be a series that goes India's way," he added. Since India's last red ball tour of England, the hosts' two most experienced bowlers -- James Anderson and Stuart Broad -- have bid adieu to international cricket. Additionally, England's bowling arsenal is also considerably depleted, with speedster Mark Wood ruled out of at least the first three Tests due to injury. Fellow quick Jofra Archer will also miss the opening game, and Gus Atkinson is continuing to recover from a hamstring strain. India, meanwhile, will take the field under new captain Shubman Gill, ushering in a fresh era following the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and R Ashwin. With a youthful batting line-up and limited red-ball exposure in recent months, the visitors will face a stern challenge. Steyn didn't write India off but backed England to claim the trophy. "It is a pretty young team. Probably going to say that England are going to win the series but it's not going to come without a fight. I feel like there are going to be one or two Tests that India will take themselves." "All games will be close. But every game will have a result. I think it will be 3-2 in favour of England. But even that will be incredibly difficult." Former India cricketers Deep Dasgupta and Sanjay Manjrekar also backed England to clinch the rechristened Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, but agreed the series would be a closely fought affair. "It is a young team , it has a young captain. The team is going through a transition so that will give England a slight advantage and they have the home advantage as well but it (the series) will be very close. I'd say 3-2 in favour of England," Dasgupta said. Manjrekar echoed the sentiment: "I think England have an edge. They are playing at home and the Indian team is going through a transitional phase so I think England might just pull this off.
