Chennai, Aug 30 (IANS): Sathiyan Gnanasekaran starred again as Dabang Delhi TTC beat Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 11-4 in Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Friday. Sathiyan, starting the tie as usual, defeated his Puneri Paltan Table Tennis counterpart Joao Monteiro 3-0, winning games one and three via Golden Points. The Dabang Delhi TTC captain set the tone for his team’s rapid win, aiding their climb up the table.
Dabang Delhi TTC’s Orawan Paranang continued her fine form in the tie’s first women’s singles; the Thai paddler, fresh from her win over the previously unbeaten Yangzi Liu, defeated Puneri Paltan Table Tennis’ Natalia Bajor two games to one. Paranang then partnered with Sathiyan to sweep aside Bajor and Anirban Ghosh, 3-0, in the mixed doubles round, sealing an early win for the team from Delhi.
Diya Chitale later beat Ayhika Mukherjee to enhance Dabang Delhi TTC’s win, while Ankur Bhattacharjee provided a rare silver lining for Puneri Paltan Table Tennis with his sweeping win over Andreas Levenko.
For their displays, Sathiyan and Orawan claimed the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie honours. Bajor’s effort in mixed doubles was named the Fastest Rally of the Tie, while Paranang completed a double with Shot of the Tie.
Friday’s first tie between Chennai Lions and U Mumba TT served up a thriller, with Maria Xiao ultimately holding firm to see off Mouma Das in a final-match decider. With her team trailing 5-7, the debuting Mouma won back-to-back games and took the third to a Golden Point, only for Xiao to claim the victory and the tie for U Mumba TT, 8-7. Earlier, Quadri Aruna extended his winning streak by beating Jules Rolland while Manav Thakkar bested Achanta Sharath Kamal in the clash of the heavyweights.
Saturday’s first tie will see PBG Bengaluru Smashers take on Ahmedabad SG Pipers, with both teams looking to inch toward the UTT 2024 playoffs. Tie 2 will feature hosts Chennai Lions playing reigning champions Goa Challengers.
UTT 2024, the franchise-based league promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India).
Detailed scores:
Dabang Delhi TTC bt Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 11-4: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bt Joao Monteiro 3-0 (11-10, 11-6, 11-10); Orawan Paranang bt Natalia Bajor 2-1 (11-9, 10-11, 11-7); Sathiyan/Paranang bt Anirban/Bajor 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-2); Andreas Levenko lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 0-3 (10-11, 6-11, 7-11); Diya Chitale bt Ayhika Mukherjee 3-0 (11-10, 11-6, 11-4)
U Mumba TT bt Chennai Lions 8-7: Quadri Aruna bt Jules Rolland 2-1 (10-11, 11-9, 11-7); Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Sakura Mori 0-3 (8-11, 10-11, 7-11); Manav/Xiao bt Sharath/Moril 3-0 (11-7, 11-10, 11-4); Manav Thakkar bt Achanta Sharath Kamal 2-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-9); Maria Xiao lost to Mouma Das 1-2 (10-11, 8-11, 11-10)