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India Gazette
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India Gazette
UTT Season 6: Sreeja, Kanak shine as Jaipur Patriots grab first win despite Stanley's Chennai Lions' spirited comeback
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 3 (ANI): Clean sweeps by Kanak Jha and Sreeja Akula set Jaipur Patriots en route to a 9-6 win in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Tuesday, despite a late, spirited fightback from Stanley's Chennai Lions. USA's top-ranked male paddler, Jha, became the first player in league history to win a match with three Golden Points in his 3-0 triumph over Kirill Gerassimenko. Subsequently, India's top-ranked female paddler, Sreeja, followed with a clinical 3-0 win over Nationals' gold medalist Poymantee Baisya as Jaipur raced to a 6-0 lead. 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. Having won their opening battles, Jha and Sreeja then paired up to stretch Jaipur's winning start to eight games, sealing their first tie win of the campaign with a commanding 2-1 win in mixed doubles over Payas Jain and Fan Siqi. But Chennai showed late resolve. Payas responded with a 3-0 win over Yashansh Malik in a clash of Delhi talents, while Fan, the league's highest-valued player, added two more games in her 2-1 win against Britt Eerland. Though the result was sealed, the Lions clawed back six valuable games, potentially crucial when table standings tighten at the business end of the league. Sreeja took home the dual honours of the Indian Player and Shot of the Tie for her displays, while Jha picked up the Foreign Player of the Tie award. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors--a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation--Kolkata ThunderBlades and Dempo Goa Challengers cruised to identical 7-2 wins over Dabang Delhi TTC and PBG Pune Jaguars, respectively. Ritvik Gupta and Swara Karmakar led the charge for Kolkata, each securing singles victories while combining for a dominant doubles win. For Goa, Sahil Rawat and Aarya Redkar delivered in style, winning all three match-ups against PBG Pune Challengers. (ANI)
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Jaipur Patriots proves too good for Chennai Lions
In a tale of contrasting halves, Jaipur Patriots overcame Chennai Lions to register its maiden win in the sixth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis at the EKA Arena on Tuesday. Despite the eventual margin of 9-6 indicating a close contest, one cannot describe the Patriots' victory as nail-biting. After all, the Patriots had raced to an unassailable 8-0 lead. But by the time Fan Siqi — the first Chinese entrant in the UTT — conceded the last game of the tie to Britt Earland, the Lions camp wore a cheerful look. In a league where every game won matters a lot in the eventual standings, the six-game winning spree despite having lost the battle could prove handy for the Lions in the eventual war. Three golden points. Three wins. Back to back to back. 🫨 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 👉 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 3, 2025 In that respect, Fan's exploits and Payas Jain's clean slate in singles has kept the Lions' in the qualification race despite losing both their ties so far. The proceedings, however, underlined just how crucial the three golden points were in the opening singles between American Kanak Jha and Kirill Gerassimenko. Had Jha not converted each of the three golden points, the scoreline could well have finished in favour of the Lions. But Jha kept his nerve as Gerassimenko ended up losing six games to give Patriots the early advantage. Fancied Sreeja Akula then mixed her long-pimpled backhand and powerful forehand winners to double the advantage with a 3-0 scoreline against Poymantee Baisya. The singles players of Patriots then combined in the mixed doubles to take the first two games off Payas and Fan to seal the tie. Sreeja's masterclass keeps the Patriots unbeaten for the tie thus far 👀 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 👉 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 3, 2025 The result: Jaipur Patriots bt Stanley's Chennai Lions 9-6 (Kanak Jha bt Kirill Gerassimenko 11-10, 11-10, 11-10; Sreeja Akula bt Poymantee Baisya 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Sreeja & Jha bt Fan Siqi & Payas Jain 11-4, 11-7, 8-11; Yashansh Malik lost to Payas 10-11, 5-11, 7-11; Britt Earland lost to Fan Siqi 8-11, 6-11, 11-7). Wednesday's fixtures: Dabang Delhi TTC vs Dempo Goa Challengers (5 p.m.); PBG Pune Jaguars vs Kolkata ThunderBlades (7.30 p.m.).
The Hindu
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
UTT 2025: From Worlds medal to packed calendar, Bernadette Szocs enjoying life on the fast lane
Life of an elite professional athlete doesn't have much room for time outside the sporting arena. Achievements, regardless of how big they may be, are seldom celebrated in a grand manner. From one tournament to the other, the journey continues. But Bernadette Szocs doesn't mind it one bit. 'I haven't had a holiday in three years. I maybe had a maximum of two or three days off. But I don't regret it at all because I love what I do. This is my life. I always enjoy playing,' says the Romanian. World No. 12 Szocs is in India, leading U Mumba in the sixth season of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league in Ahmedabad which started on May 31. The tournament began barely a week after one of the biggest days of her career. ALSO READ | More matches, variations and problem-solving: How Sreeja Akula hopes to use UTT 2025 to regain lost form At the recent World Championships in Doha, Szocs and her Austrian partner Sofia Polcanova became the first European pair since 1977 to reach the women's doubles final. While they could not finish at the top of the podium, Szocs became the first Romanian woman since 1993 to win a medal at the event. But for the 30-year-old Szocs, there was no time to celebrate. 'After the World Championships, I had to go to Romania to play the Romania league final. And then, I flew directly to India, So, I didn't want to celebrate or party because I also wanted to focus on the tournament here in India,' she says. 'I am happy to be back in India and be a part of UTT. I have a lot of fans here and it is always a pleasure to be a part of this league.' Szocs hopes to find some time after UTT, which ends on June 15, to invite some of her friends and people close to her to celebrate the World Championships medal before she goes to Slovenia for the WTT Star Contender event beginning from June 17. At the moment, she does have someone special with her in India - her mother, who has been cheering for her from the stands. 'This year, I brought my mother with me so that I can spend some time with her. Last year, she wanted to come but I didn't know how it would be here. This year, I gave her a surprise and said that you're coming with me,' she says. In U Mumba's two ties so far, Szocs has played two singles and two mixed doubles matches. She had a tough tournament opener against PBG Pune Jaguars where she just managed to come from three match points down to beat Dina Meshref in singles. Mixed doubles with Akash Pal ended in a defeat. ALSO READ | Nick Kyrgios out of Wimbledon with injury During her UTT matches in the past, Szocs has been seen sporting a traditional bindi, a tiny ornament commonly worn by Hindu women in between the eyebrows. However, the bindi was missing when she played the first tie this season. But her second outing was a much more comfortable affair against Ahmedabad SG Pipers where she won both. 'I forgot it. I feel this is very lucky. So, the first thing I did when I woke up was to put this directly in my bag. I couldn't play one more match without it,' says Szocs after the win over Ahmedabad.
Hans India
13 hours 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.
NDTV
16 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
UTT: U Mumba Thrash Ahmedabad SG Pipers, Kolkata Thunder Blades Also Win
U Mumba TT bounced back in style, claiming a commanding 10-5 win over Western rivals Ahmedabad SG Pipers in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Monday, driven by standout performances from World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs, Lilian Bardet, and Yashaswini Ghorpade. In the earlier tie, Kolkata ThunderBlades registered an 8-7 win on their league debut against Season 3 champions Stanley's Chennai Lions. 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. 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, with tickets available only on BookMyShow. The tie opened with Bardet continuing his strong form, edging Snehit Suravajjula 2-1 after dominating the first game and holding firm in a tense second. Yashaswini, making her first appearance of the season, then delivered a composed 2-1 win over Ayhika Mukherjee, storming through the decider 11-4 after building an 8-0 lead. The momentum stayed with Mumbai as Szocs and Akash Pal teamed up to win the mixed doubles 2-1, holding off a brief comeback from Walther and Ayhika. Akash nearly sealed the tie with an upset in the fourth match, taking the first game against World No. 34 Ricardo Walther before the German rallied to level the score. But Szocs shut the door in the final clash, sweeping Giorgia Piccolin 3-0 to clinch the tie. Yashaswini and Szocs claimed the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie awards, respectively, while Ayhika took home the Shot of the Tie honour for a smashing forehand drive in her singles contest. India's 18-year-old prodigy Ankur Bhattacharjee produced the upset of the night, blanking Olympian and World No. 55 Kirill Gerassimenko 3-0 to power debutants Kolkata ThunderBlades to a thrilling win over Stanley's Chennai Lions in their UTT Season 6 opener. Ankur's backhand was in full flow, delivering nine winners in Game 1 alone. He edged the second on Golden Point and sealed the third with authority, earning both Indian Player of the Tie and Shot of the Tie honours. Chennai hit back through World No. 36 Fan Siqi, the league's highest-valued player, who marked her debut with a 3-0 win over Selena Selvakumar. She then teamed up with Payas Jain to take the mixed doubles, though Kolkata snatched a game late. Chennai's hopes faded as Aruna Quadri edged Payas 2-1, and Adriana Diaz sealed the tie with a 3-0 win over Poymantee Baisya. Fan was named Foreign Player of the Tie. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors-by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation-Sahil Rawat excelled in men's singles and mixed doubles, leading Dempo Goa Challengers to a 5-4 victory over Dabang Delhi TTC. Meanwhile, Trishal Surapureddy and Shreya Dhar's singles wins secured a 5-4 victory for Jaipur Patriots against PBG Pune Jaguars. Listen to the latest songs, only on
