Latest news with #PBGPuneJaguars
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
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.).
The Hindu
a day 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).
Hans India
a day 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.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
UTT Season 6: Reeth Rishya, Anirban Ghosh Star in PBG Pune Jaguars Comeback 9-6 Win Over Rivals U Mumba TT
Ahmedabad, (Gujarat) [India] June 1 (ANI): Indian stalwarts Reeth Rishya Tennison and Anirban Ghosh starred as PBG Pune Jaguars came from behind to defeat Maharashtra rivals U Mumba TT 9-6 in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Sunday. 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, according to a release from UTT. International stars Lilian Bardet and Bernadette Szocs kicked things off positively for U Mumba with wins in their respective matches, helping their team into an early 4-2 lead. Bardet took little time to secure an 11-1 victory in Game 1 of the first match against UTT favourite Alvaro Robles, before dominating Game 2 with an 11-4 win. However, Robles crucially pulled one back for PBG Pune Jaguars, keeping them within touching distance of their opponents in a league where every game counts. Meanwhile, Szocs extended her perfect head-to-head record across all competitions against Season 6 debutant Dina Meshref, staging a dramatic comeback by saving three match points in Game 2 before going on to win the match 2-1. But the momentum shifted dramatically when Anirban stepped up for Pune. First, he partnered with Meshref to win a nervy mixed doubles battle 2-1, clinching it with the Golden Point. Then, he edged Akash Pal 2-1 in a gritty singles contest to level the tie at 6-6. In the decider, the experienced Reeth dominated against Swastika Ghosh 3-0, sealing a memorable 9-6 win for Pune. Reeth was named Indian Player of the Tie, while Szocs earned Foreign Player of the Tie. Akash took home the Shot of the Tie prize. Earlier at the Dream UTT Juniors--a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation--Dempo Goa Challengers edged Stanley's Chennai Lions 5-4, powered by a flawless 3-0 win from Sahil Rawat and a crucial mixed doubles win. In the second tie, Jaipur Patriots sealed a 6-3 victory over Ahmedabad SG Pipers, with Shreya Dhar starring in both singles and doubles alongside Trishal Surapureddy. Final Scores PBG Pune Jaguars 9-6 U Mumba TT Alvaro Robles lost to Lilian Bardet 1-2 (1-11, 4-11, 11-8) Dina Meshref lost to Bernadette Szocs 1-2 (11-5, 10-11, 9-11) Anirban Ghosh/Dina Meshref bt. Akash Pal/Bernadette Szocs 2-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-10) Anirban Ghosh bt. Akash Pal 2-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-8) Reeth Rishya Tennison bt. Swastika Ghosh 3-0 (11-9, 11-10, 11-6). (ANI)
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Jaguars ride high on Reeth and Anirban's exploits
The Maharashtra derby lived up to its billing and offered the Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 its first nail-biter as PBG Pune Jaguars — a rebranded team — stunned the fancied U Mumba TT to mark a sensational debut on Sunday. Despite captain Alvaro Robles underperforming in the opening singles tie against an on-song Lilian Bardet, Dena Meshref kept the Jaguars in the hunt by stretching Bernadette Szocs. The Indian duo of Anirban Ghosh and T. Reeth Rishya then punched above their weight in the last two singles outings to spark off celebrations in the Jaguars camp. Anirban's first IndianOil UTT win, right when it mattered most for PBG Pune Jaguars 🔥 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 # — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 Ghosh — despite wasting four match points in the second game — won the decider against Akash Pal to stretch the tie into the deciding match, with the teams locked at six games apiece. Reeth then used all her experience to make it a forgettable UTT debut for Swastika Ghosh by maintaining a clean slate. Reeth's forehand reverse-pendulum serve — with side-spin and top-spin variations — left Swastika flummoxed. Reeth won service points at 9-9 in the first game and on the golden point of the second to seal the tie for the Pune outfit. Golden point clutch by PBG Pune Jaguars to keep the tie alive ✨ 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 Earlier in the evening, U Mumba kept itself afloat with stunning comebacks. Szocs saved three match points in the second game before edging past left-handed Dina in the second game. Akash then started a stunning comeback against Anirban, thanks to a stunning forehand down-the-line block at 6-10 that started a five-point streak. The point of the day was played in the first match. At 8-3 in the second game, Bardet won an 18-shot rally against Robles to start off a series of surprising results. Who needs cardio when you've got rallies like this? 😅 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 The result: U Mumba TT lost to PBG Pune Jaguars 6-9 (Lilian Bardet bt Alvaro Robles 11-1, 11-4, 8-11; Bernadette Szocs bt Dina Meshref 5-11, 11-10, 11-9; Szocs & Akash Pal lost to Dina & Anirban Ghosh 11-7, 7-11, 10-11; Akash lost to Anirban 6-11, 11-10, 8-11; Swastika Ghosh lost to T. Reeth Rishya 9-11, 10-11, 6-11). Monday's fixtures: Stanley's Chennai Lions vs Kolkata ThunderBlades (5 pm); U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers (7.30 pm).
