Latest news with #DempoGoaChallengers
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Meshref's injury derails Jaguars as Challengers prove too hot to handle
The toss was done, and the line-ups were announced. But during the warm-ups, Dina Meshref – PBG Pune Jaguars' ace paddler of the Ultimate Table Tennis' sixth season – pulled out after having hurt her back during its last outing. Such was the blow for Jaguars that they never recovered from it and lost to defending champion Dempo Goa Challengers 5-10. Goa Challengers started strongly and took a 7-2 lead in the first three ties itself. Had Anirban Ghosh – the surprise package of the season – not stunned veteran Tiago Apolonia and Reeth Rishya not taken a game off Zeng Jian, the Jaguars would have faced a mauling. The 10-5 scoreline in favour of the Goa outfit eventually kept both teams in the hunt for the semifinals. As per the UTT rules, Jaguars had to pick a replacement from the choice of two overseas players. It went with South Korea's Zion Lee. But with the sudden call-up, Zion wilted under the big-match pressure as Krittwika Sinha Roy stunned the Korean 2-1. Minutes earlier, Harmeet Desai – Krittwika's husband – had edged past Spaniard southpaw Alvaro Robles in the match of the day. Harmeet and Robles – familiar foes at UTT and on the world tour – enthralled the audience with superb strokeplay. It was Harmeet's control with the backhand and powerful forehand winners that eventually set the tone for the Challengers. As expected, Harmeet and Zeng made a clean sweep against Anirban Ghosh and Zion – teaming up for the first time – in the mixed doubles to widen the margin. The results: Dempo Goa Challengers bt PBG Pune Jaguars 10-5 (Harmeet Desai bt Alvaro Robles 11-10, 11-9, 10-11; Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Zion Lee 11-5, 5-11, 11-6; Zeng Jian & Harmeet bt Zion & Anirban Ghosh 11-9, 11-5, 11-9; Tiago Apolonia lost to Anirban Ghosh 9-11, 11-8, 7-11; Zeng Jian bt Reeth Rishya 10-11, 11-7, 11-4). Dabang Delhi TTC bt Kolkata ThunderBlades 8-7 (Quek Izaac lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 6-11, 11-6, 10-11; Maria Xiao lost to Adriana Diaz 7-11, 5-11, 11-10; Maria Xiao & G. Sathiyan bt Adriana Diaz & Ankur Bhattacharjee 11-7, 11-7, 9-11; Sathiyan lost to Quadri Aruna 11-7, 9-11, 6-11; Diya Chitale bt Ananya Chande 11-4, 11-6, 11-7). Saturday's fixtures: Jaipur Patriots vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers (5 p.m.); U Mumba TT vs Stanley's Chennai Lions (7.30 p.m.).
The Hindu
a day ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
UTT Juniors
Ritvik Gupta and Swara Karmarkar guided Kolkata ThunderBlades to a 5-4 victory over Dempo Goa Challengers in the league stage of the Dream UTT Juniors table tennis tournament at the EKA Arena on Thursday. The Kolkata team completed its league engagements with 26 points, while Dempo Goa Challengers wound up with 27 points. Both should be making the semifinals, along with U Mumba and Jaipur Patriots who have 23 points each so far, and have one more league match to play. The results: League: PBG Pune Jaguars bt Dabang Delhi TTC 7-2 (Atharva Nawarange bt Akkash Rajavelu 11-7, 11-3, 11-5; Atharva & Tushti Sood bt Akash & Dhaani Jain 11-8, 10-11, 11-9; Tushtii bt Dhaani 11-7, 11-8, 6-11). Kolkata ThunderBlades bt Dempo Goa Challengers 5-4 (Ritvik Gupta bt Sahil Rawat 11-3, 11-10, 3-11; Ritvik & Swara Karmarkar lost to Sahil & Aarya Redkar 10-11, 11-9, 10-11; Swara bt Aarya 11-5, 11-7, 9-11).
India Gazette
2 days ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
UTT Season 6: PBG Pune Jaguars beat Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5; Dabang Delhi TTC get revenge over Dempo Goa Challengers in final rematch
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 5 (ANI): PBG Pune Jaguars delivered a clinical, all-round performance to defeat Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5, while Dabang Delhi TTC held their nerve in a blockbuster rematch of the 2024 final, edging past defending champions Dempo Goa Challengers 9-6 on Thursday. Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Ultimate Table Tennis (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, as per the UTT press release. In a pulsating clash between international heavyweights and UTT stalwarts, Alvaro Robles edged Quadri Aruna to give PBG Pune Jaguars the ideal start, clinching all three games on Golden Points for his first singles win of the season. Remarkably, it marked the first time this rare feat has occurred twice in the same UTT campaign. Dina Meshref then held her nerve in a tight 2-1 win over Adriana Diaz, sealing her maiden league victory before pairing with Anirban Ghosh to secure the mixed doubles 2-1, handing Pune early control of the tie. Kolkata ThunderBlades hit back through young star Ankur Bhattacharjee, who took down Anirban with sharp, crowd-pleasing play in the second men's singles. Crucially, though, Anirban snatched the final game to deny Ankur a full sweep--an important point that kept Pune ahead and denied Kolkata from leveling the tie. Reeth Rishya then closed the door on any hopes of a comeback, sweeping Selena Selvakumar 3-0 to seal the tie. Meshref was awarded the Foreign Player of the Tie, while Diaz claimed the Shot of the Tie. Reeth claimed the Indian Player of the Tie honour. In the day's first match, Harmeet Desai edged Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in a gripping three-game showdown between two of India's finest, but it wasn't enough as Dabang Delhi TTC sealed their second win of the season, this time over reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers in a rematch of last year's final. Izaac Quek opened with a clinical 3-0 win over Tiago Apolonia for Delhi, while Zeng Jian hit back for Goa by sweeping Diya Chitale. Delhi regained the lead through Sathiyan and Maria Xiao's composed doubles win, but Harmeet's 2-1 victory over Sathiyan levelled things again. In the decider, Xiao rose to the occasion, dominating Sayali Wani 3-0 to clinch the tie. Harmeet was named Indian Player and Shot of the Tie winner, while Xiao claimed Foreign Player of the Tie honours. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors--a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation--U Mumba TT cruised to a 7-2 win over Ahmedabad SG Pipers, with Prateek Tulsani and Ananya Muralidharan starring in both singles and doubles. In a tighter contest, Jaipur Patriots edged Stanley's Chennai Lions 5-4, thanks to a dominant opening by Trishal Surapureddy and a crucial doubles point alongside Shreya Dhar. Final Scores Match 1 Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6 Dempo Goa Challengers Izaac Quek bt. Tiago Apolonia 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9)Diya Chitale lost to Zeng Jian 0-3 (9-11, 5-11, 6-11)Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao bt. Harmeet Desai/Zeng Jian 2-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-8)Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Harmeet Desai 1-2 (11-8, 9-11, 9-11)Maria Xiao bt. Sayali Wani 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6) Match 2 PBG Pune Jaguars 10-5 Kolkata ThunderBlades Alvaro Robles bt. Quadri Aruna 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-10)Dina Meshref bt. Adriana Diaz 2-1 (11-8, 1-11, 11-10)Anirban Ghosh/Dina Meshref bt. Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 7-11)Anirban Ghosh lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 1-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-8)Reeth Rishya bt. Selena Selvakumar 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-8). (ANI)
United News of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- United News of India
UTT: Harmeet Desai downs Sathiyan G in epic battle
Ahmedabad, June 4 (UNI) Harmeet Desai downed Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in an epic battle between two of India's top men's paddlers, yet it wasn't enough for reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers, who went down 6-9 against Dabang Delhi TTC in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6. 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. A rematch of last season's final, the tie opened with 19-year-old Izaac Quek putting Dabang Delhi on the front foot, blanking Tiago Apolonia 3-0 in a generational clash between the league's youngest and oldest foreign players. Diya Chitale, then, fought hard against Singapore's Zeng Jian but couldn't prevent a straight-games defeat, levelling the tie at 3-3. Delhi struck back through the experienced duo of Sathiyan and Maria Xiao, who held their nerve in the mixed doubles against Harmeet and Zeng to win 2-1 and regain the lead. However, in a much-anticipated men's singles match, Harmeet edged Sathiyan 2-1 in a thriller, sealing it 11-9 in the decider, after the two had traded close games. But it was Xiao who had the final say. The Spanish star dominated her singles rubber against young Sayali Wani, wrapping up a 3-0 win and clinching the tie for Dabang Delhi TTC, who remain unbeaten in Season 6. For his efforts, Harmeet claimed the Indian Player and the Shot of the Tie honours, while Xiao took home the Foreign Player of the Tie award. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors—a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation—U Mumba TT cruised to a 7-2 win over Ahmedabad SG Pipers, with Prateek Tulsani and Ananya Muralidharan starring in both singles and doubles. In a tighter contest, Jaipur Patriots edged Stanley's Chennai Lions 5-4, thanks to a dominant opening by Trishal Surapureddy and a crucial doubles point alongside Shreya Dhar. With the season now underway, all ties will be broadcast on Star Sports Khel and Star Sports 2 Tamil, and streamed live on JioHotstar for fans across the country. Final Scores: Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6 Dempo Goa Challengers Izaac Quek bt. Tiago Apolonia 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9) Diya Chitale lost to Zeng Jian 0-3 (9-11, 5-11, 6-11) Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao bt. Harmeet Desai/Zeng Jian 2-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-8) Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Harmeet Desai 1-2 (11-8, 9-11, 9-11) Maria Xiao bt. Sayali Wani 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6). UNI BM
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Dempo Goa Challengers, Kolkata ThunderBlades score thumping wins
Sahil Rawat and Aarya Redkar guided Dempo Goa Challengers to a 7-2 victory over PBG Pune Jaguars in the Dream UTT juniors table tennis tournament at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. It was the third victory in four matches for Dempo Goa, and it took its tally to 23 points. Kolkata ThunderBlades also registered its third win in four matches, beating Dabang Delhi 7-2, and took its tally to 21 points. The results (league): Kolkata ThunderBlades bt Dabang Delhi TTC 7-2 (Ritvik Gupta bt Akash Rajavelu 3-11, 11-6, 11-8; Ritvik & Swara Karmakar bt Akash & Dhaani Jain 11-10, 11-9, 11-9; Swara bt Dhaani 11-9, 11-9, 6-11). Dempo Goa Challengers bt PBG Pune Jaguars 7-2 (Sahil Rawat bt Atharva Nawarange 11-3, 11-4, 5-11; Sahil & Aarya Redkar bt Atharva & Tushti Sood 11-9, 11-7, 11-6; Aarya bt Tushti 11-3, 11-8, 6-11).
