Reeth Tennison held her nerve to help Goa Challengers win the Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Title with an 8-7 win over Chennai Lions.
In the nerve-jangling final, the Lions paddler Sutirtha Mukherjee won the first two games of the final contest of the tie to take the score to 7-7, with one game left. Reeth Tennison bounced back to take the last game and gave Goa Challengers a thrilling victory against her home side.
Goa had a positive start to the tie with a 2-1 win. Harmeet Desai came from behind to win the final two games of his match 11-4 and 11-8.
Suthasini Sawettabut then lost the women's singles to Yangzi Liu 1-2. The latter lost the first game 11-7 but won the next one 11-6. She came back stronger to take the final game 11-5.
Sharath/Yangzi edged past Harmeet/Suthasini in the mixed doubles to put Chennai Lions on top after three matches. The Chennai Lions pair won the first two games 11-7, 11-9 before losing the final game via Golden Point.
Alvaro Robles was the star performer for Goa in the final. He blanked Sharath Kamal to win all three games. Sharath went down fighting and lost the match 11-8, 11-8, 11-10.
After the fourth match, Goa moved to 7-5. They needed one game to seal the victory, while Chennai Lions needed all three.
Sutirtha Mukherjee proved too good for Reeth Tennison in the first two games. She won the first game 11-7 and then the second one through Golden Point. Tennison propelled Goa Challengers to a victory with an 11-6 win in the final game.
Goa Challengers vs Chennai Lions Result
Goa Challengers 8-7 Chennai Lions
Men's Singles
Harmeet Desai 2-1 Benedikt Duda
Scores: 6-11, 11-4, 11-8
Women's Singles
Suthasini Sawettabut 1-2 Yangzi Liu
Scores: 11-7, 6-11, 5-11
Mixed Doubles
Harmeet/Suthasini 1-2 Sharath/Yangzi
Scores: 7-11, 9-11, 11-10
Men's Singles
Alvaro Robles 3-0 Sharath Kamal
Scores: 11-8, 11-8, 11-10
Women's Singles
Reeth Tennison 1-2 Sutirtha Mukherjee
Scores: 7-11, 10-11, 11-6