Ultimate Table Tennis 2023: Jon Persson, Sreeja Akula powers Dabang Delhi TTC to vanquish U Mumba TT

Dabang Delhi TTC thumped U Mumba TT in the 12th match of the Ultimate Table Tennis League 2023 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Monday, July 24. The Delhi outfit defeated U Mumba 11-4 to secure second place on the points table.

Although Gnanasekaran Sathiyan lost his first two games in the fourth match against Quadri Aruna, the Chennai-based paddler finished the last game on the winning side by an 11-8 margin. That win was enough for Dabang Delhi TTC to take an unassailable lead of 8-4 at that point.

Sathiyan paired with Barbora Balazova to beat Manav Thakkar and Lily Zhang in the mixed doubles match despite going down in the first game. Delhi Dabang TTC won their mixed doubles match by 5-11, 11-5 and 11-8.

Earlier in the game, Jon Persson got better of Manav 3-0 in the first game of the men's singles. Persson rallied past his opponent with his blazing shots to widen the gap to 10-2 at one stage before the Surat-based paddler picked six points in a row.

However, Manav couldn't enforce the game to a golden point as the Swedish sealed the game at 11-8. The Delhi Dabang TTC player also won the next two games by 11-8 and 11-7 to provide his side with a flying start.

The nail-biting contest of the day was between Ayhika Mukherjee and Lily Zhang with all three games going down the wire. It was an interesting start with both the players going toe to toe at 9-9 and further at 10-10 only for Lily to complete the golden point.

Lily banked on the great start and took a comfortable lead of 9-6 in the second game. Then came the moment of the match when Ayhika Mukherjee plundered five points on the trot to stun the American player.

Ayhika continued the momentum in the final game by leading 8-5 at one stage before Lily threatened a comeback with three consecutive points. The game was tied at 10-10 between the two for the third time in the evening and Ayhika won the golden point here to keep Delhi in a commanding position at 5-1.

Sreeja Akula blanked Diya Chitale 3-0 to extend the lead to 11-4. Dabang Delhi TTC climbed to the second spot in the points table with 33 points, two behind defending champions Chennai Lions (35).

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Dabang Delhi TTC vs U Mumba TT Result

Dabang Delhi TTC 11-4 U Mumba TT

Men's Singles

Jon Persson 3-0 Manav Thakkar

Scores: 11-8, 11-8, 11-7

Women's Singles

Ayhika Mukherjee 2-1 Lily Zhang

Scores: 10-11, 11-10, 11-10

Mixed doubles

Gnanasekaran Sathiyan/Barbora Balazova 2-1 Manav Thakkar/Lily Zhang

Scores: 5-11, 11-5, 11-8

Men's Singles

Gnanasekaran Sathiyan 1-2 Qadri Aruna

Scores: 6-11, 6-11, 11-8

Women's Singles

Sreeja Akula 3-0 Diya Chitale

Scores: 11-8, 11-9, 11-8