Can Dabang Delhi Maintain Their Unbeaten Streak in UTT Season 6?

Ahmedabad, June 8 (NationPress) The leading team, Dabang Delhi TTC, extended their undefeated streak in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Sunday, securing an impressive 11-4 victory against PBG Pune Jaguars. In a prior match, Kolkata ThunderBlades reignited their postseason aspirations with a 9-6 triumph over the defending champions, Dempo Goa Challengers.

Starting strong in the season's final double-header, Dabang Delhi saw Izaac Quek dominate Alvaro Robles in the first two games before Robles managed a comeback. Maria Xiao followed up with a solid 2-1 win against Taneesha Kotecha, who showcased her resilience with an impressive final game recovery on her UTT debut.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Xiao maintained their unbeaten mixed doubles record, narrowly defeating Robles and Reeth Rishya 2-1, granting Delhi a strong advantage. Sathiyan then clinched a 2-1 win over Anirban Ghosh, securing the tie, while Diya Chitale concluded the evening with a commanding 3-0 victory over Zion Lee from South Korea, earning the Indian Player of the Tie accolade. Xiao was honored as the Foreign Player of the Tie, while Anirban received the Shot of the Tie distinction.

Earlier, Kolkata ThunderBlades achieved a 9-6 win over Dempo Goa Challengers with contributions from Ankur Bhattacharjee, Quadri Aruna, and Adriana Diaz, who all claimed victories in their singles matches. Aruna delivered a thrilling upset against Harmeet Desai, inflicting his first singles defeat of the season, while Diaz secured a decisive 3-0 win over Krittwika Sinha Roy, highlighted by a spectacular rally that earned her the Shot of the Tie.

Ankur and Diaz then triumphed over Harmeet and Zeng Jian in doubles, marking their first win as a pair. Ankur later defeated Ronit Bhanja in the decider, remaining unbeaten this season. Zeng contributed a crucial 3-0 win for Goa. Ankur and Diaz were named Indian and Foreign Players of the Tie, respectively.

In an additional highlight for Kolkata ThunderBlades, they clinched the inaugural title at the Dream UTT Juniors, a collaborative initiative by IndianOil UTT and the Dream Sports Foundation, earlier in the day, defeating U Mumba TT 5-2. Ritvik Gupta initiated the final with a singles win, and together with Swara Karmakar, they propelled Kolkata to a 4-2 lead. Swara achieved the final point in her match, sealing the championship. Kolkata took home the INR 2 lakh prize for first place, while U Mumba received INR 1 lakh as runners-up.

Final Scores

Kolkata ThunderBlades 9-6 Dempo Goa Challengers

Quadri Aruna bt. Harmeet Desai 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-6)

Adriana Diaz bt. Krittwika Sinha Roy 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-6)

Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz bt. Harmeet Desai/Zeng Jian 2-1 (11-10, 9-11, 11-7)

Ankur Bhattacharjee bt. Ronit Bhanja 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-1)

Selena Selvakumar lost to Zeng Jian 0-3 (4-11, 6-11, 4-11)

Dabang Delhi TTC 11-4 PBG Pune Jaguars

Izaac Quek bt. Alvaro Robles 2-1 (11-5, 11-4, 4-11)

Maria Xiao bt. Taneesha Kotecha 2-1 (11-5, 11-5, 9-11)

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao bt. Alvaro Robles/Reeth Rishya 2-1 (11-10, 11-9, 4-11)

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bt. Anirban Ghosh 2-1 (11-8, 11-3, 4-11)

Diya Chitale bt. Zion Lee 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-8)