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Hans India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hans India
UTT Season 6: Dabang Delhi eye revenge against Dempo Goa in 2024 final rematch
Ahmedabad: Dabang Delhi TTC will be looking to settle scores when they face reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers in a rematch of last year's final in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Wednesday. Later, at 7:30 pm, Kolkata ThunderBlades will square up against PBG Pune Jaguars, both sides looking for their second win of the season. Dabang Delhi head into their blockbuster rematch against Dempo Goa Challengers with momentum on their side. After a dominant opening against Jaipur Patriots, Delhi's key players look dialled in: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran swept Jeet Chandra and partnered seamlessly with Maria Xiao in mixed doubles while Diya Chitale justified her top billing as the highest-valued Indian player in the auction with an upset win over World No. 42 Britt Eerland. With Izaac Quek, 19, also stunning three-time Olympian Kanak Jha in his debut, Delhi's top order is firing early. Their challenge for Delhi now is a Goa squad that opened with authority. Led by Harmeet Desai, who showed composure in his win over Ricardo Walther, the defending champs bring form and depth. Tiago Apolonia and Zeng Jian hit the ground running, and Krittwika Sinha Roy added to their firepower with a strong win over Ayhika. It's a clash of two balanced line-ups, with early-season supremacy on the line. In the evening tie, Kolkata ThunderBlades will look to build on a powerful debut led by their star trio - Aruna Quadri, Adriana Diaz, and breakout teen Ankur Bhattacharjee. Ankur's clinical takedown of Olympian Kirill Gerassimenko reaffirmed his status as one of the sport's most exciting young talents. Aruna and Diaz, ranked 27 and 17 respectively, played with calm authority, while Selena Selvakumar showed promise despite a tough draw. PBG Pune Jaguars stand in their way—dangerous and primed to back up the comeback win in their opening match. Olympian Alvaro Robles and debutant Dina Meshref will be keen to bounce back, but the real spark came from Anirban Ghosh and Reeth Rishya, who carried the side in the opener, highlighting the depth of Indian talent on display in the league. Expect both Pune and Kolkata to go all-in for back-to-back wins in this early-season tone-setter. Squads: Match 1 Dabang Delhi TTC: Diya Chitale, Maria Xiao (Spain), Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Quek Izaac (Singapore), Suhana Saini, Sourav Saha. Dempo Goa Challengers: Zeng Jian (Singapore), Harmeet Desai, Tiago Apolonia (Portugal), Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Sayali Wani. Match 2 PBG Pune Jaguars: Alvaro Robles (Spain), Dina Meshref (Egypt), Taneesha Kotecha, Anirban Ghosh, Reeth Rishya, Mudit Dani. Kolkata ThunderBlades: Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Selena Selvakumar, Ananya Chande, Deepit Patil.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Contrasting victories for Goa Challengers and Dabang Delhi
Defending champion Goa Challengers and last year's finalist Dabang Delhi TTC began their Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 campaign with wins in contrasting fashion on the opening day at the EKA Arena here on Saturday. Goa Challengers — with Gujarati captain Harmeet Desai and his better half Krittwika Sinha Roy — was stretched to the hilt by 2024 semifinalist Ahmedabad SG Pipers. The tie was open till the last last rubber when Zeng Jian closed it out by pipping Giorgia Piccolin to set up a 10-5 win. Dabang Delhi rode on captain G. Sathiyan's exploits to outplay Jaipur Patriots 11-4. Sathiyan didn't concede a single game in his six matches, including the mixed doubles with southpaw Maria Xiao as his partner. Had Diya Chitale — the National women's champion — not squandered a 7-2 lead in the last league and kept a clean slate, the Delhi squad would have equalled the joint-highest margin of result record. In a late match, Harmeet and Krittwika had impressive outings in singles. Harmeet saved a match point in the second game against the seasoned German Ricardo Walther before running away with the decider. Krittwika used her experience against Ayhika Mukherjee to put Challengers in charge. The results: Dabang Delhi TTC bt Jaipur Patriots 11-4 (Izaac Quek bt Kanak Jha 5-11, 11-5, 11-9; Maria Xiao lost to Sreeja Akula 11-4, 9-11, 10-11; G. Sathiyan & Maria Xiao bt Jha & Sreeja 11-6, 11-10, 11-6; Sathiyan bt Jeet Chandra 11-6, 11-7, 11-6; Diya Chitale bt Britt Eerland 11-8, 11-7, 8-11). Dempo Goa Challengers bt Ahmedabad SG Pipers 10-5 (Tiago Apolonia bt SFR Snehit 11-6, 11-6, 10-11; Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Ayhika Mukherjee 4-11, 11-8, 11-9; Zeng Jian & Harmeet Desai lost to Ayhika & Ricardo Walther 9-11, 10-11, 11-10; Harmeet bt Riccardo Walther 6-11, 11-10, 11-3; Zeng bt Giorgio Piccolin 11-7, 11-7, 11-5). Sunday's fixture: U Mumba TT vs PBG Pune Jaguars (5 p.m.)
