Ultimate Table Tennis 2023: Goa Challengers hand U Mumba TT their first loss
U Mumba TT met Goa Challengers in the fourth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis League on Wednesday, July 19. U Mumba TT, who were the only unbeaten team in the League, began the game as the favorites.
Alvaro Robles and Quadri Aruna met in the first match of the day. Quadri Aruna dominated the first game and won it 11-6. He also took an 8-3 lead in the second game. Alvaro Robles won three points on the trot and took the game to the Golden Point, but the African paddler won the point to go 2-0 up.
A change of shoes brought the necessary luck for the Goa Challengers paddler as Alvaro Robles won the final game by 11-8. He took a 5-1 lead initially and capitalized on it.
Suthasini Sawettabut and Diya Chitale met in the second match. The Thai paddler raced to 9-5 immediately and won the game 11-7. Diya Chitale had a positive start to the second game. She won four points on the trot, including a 21-shot rally. Suthasini then came back stronger and took the game at 11-9.
Diya won three points on the trot to level Suthasini after being 1-3 down in game three. From 8-8, Diya Chitale found a way to win the final game. The tie score moved to 3-all after the first two matches.
It was Harmeet Desai/Suthasini Sawettabut vs Manav Thakkar/Lily Zhang in the Mixed Doubles. The close first game witnessed both teams end at 8-8. However, Harmeet/Suthasini won the game 11-8 by winning three points on the trot. The duo also won the second game by 11-8 after taking the initial lead.
Manav/Lily won the final game to help U Mumba TT to stay in the hunt. The pair moved to 5-2 initially and sealed the game at 11-7. After the mixed doubles tie, Goa Challengers led the tie 5-4.
Harmeet Desai then faced Manav Thakkar in the fourth match. The close contest went Goa Challengers' way as the team took a 7-5 lead. At first, Manav Thakkar came back from 4-7 down to take the game via Golden Point. Harmeet Desai won the next two games to help Goa Challengers move to 7-5.
Reeth Tennison and Lily Zhang fought in the final match. Goa Challengers needed one game to seal the tie, while U Mumba TT needed to win all three. Lily Zhang won the first game 11-6 despite starting 0-3. However, Reeth Tennison pulled off an amazing game to win it for the Goa Challengers.
She won the second game by 11-6 to help Goa Challengers to reach eight game points in the tie. In the final game, Reeth Tennison won three points on the trot to move to 8-6 and then sealed the game by 11-9. With this, Goa Challengers ended the tie at 9-6.
Goa Challengers vs U Mumba TT Result
Goa Challengers 9-6 U Mumba
Men's Singles
Alvaro Robles 1-2 Quadri Aruna
Score: 6-11, 10-11, 11-8
Women's Singles
Suthasini Sawettabut 2-1 Diya Chitale
Score: 11-7, 11-9, 9-11
Mixed Doubles
Harmeet/Suthasini 2-1 Manav/Lily
Score: 11-8, 11-8, 7-11
Men's Singles
Harmeet Desai 2-1 Manav Thakkar
Score: 10-11, 11-7, 11-8
Women's Singles
Reeth Tennison 2-1 Lily Zhang
Score: 6-11, 11-6, 11-9