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Halfway through the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 5, the Dabang Delhi TTC emerged victorious over the Goa Challengers in a nail-biting encounter with a 9-6 scoreline in Tie 10 on Wednesday, August 28.
The opening match of the evening saw the Goa Challengers’ Mihai Bobocica face off against the Dabang Delhi’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. In a thrilling three-game contest, Bobocica took the first game 11-8. However, Gnanasekaran bounced back to claim the next two games, 11-9, 11-9, to secure the first match for the Dabang Delhi TTC, handing them a 2-1 lead in the tie.
The second match brought an unexpected result in the women's singles encounter. Liu Yangzi of the Goa Challengers, who had been undefeated in the league until this match, faced Thai paddler Orawan Paranang from the Dabang Delhi TTC.
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Paranang stunned Liu by winning the first game 11-7 and edged her out in a tense second game 11-10 on a golden point. Although Liu managed to win the third game 11-6, Paranang’s strong performance increased Delhi’s advantage in the tie.
In the mixed doubles match that followed, Paranang once again proved to be a key player for her team, partnering with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to face Liu Yangzi and Harmeet Desai. The duo from Delhi dominated the match, winning the first two games 11-7, 11-4. Although Liu and Desai fought back to take the third game 11-7, it wasn’t enough to stop the Dabang Delhi from extending their lead even further.
Goa Challengers captain Harmeet Desai then took to the table in the second men’s singles, facing Austria’s Andreas Levenko from Dabang Delhi TTC. Desai, who had been searching for his first win of the season, started on the back foot, losing the first game 7-11. However, he fought back to win the next two games 11-8, 11-9, finally securing a much-needed victory for himself and his team.
The final match of the tie featured two promising young talents in the women’s singles as Diya Chitale of the Dabang Delhi TTC faced Yashaswini Ghorpade of the Goa Challengers. Chitale, fresh off her first win in the previous tie, continued her winning streak by taking the first game after a tense golden point at 10-10.
She then comfortably won the second game 11-6. Ghorpade unwavered, took the third game in an emphatic manner, winning 11-3, but it was too little, too late. Chitale’s win clinched the tie for Dabang Delhi TTC, sealing their 9-6 victory.
Thursday, August 29, will witness the PBG Bengaluru Smashers take on the Jaipur Patriots. Bengaluru will be eager to extend their unbeaten run to three ties in the UTT 2024 season.
Complete results of Tie 10 of UTT 2024: Goa Challengers vs. Dabang Delhi TTC
Dabang Delhi TTC 9 - 6 Goa Challengers
Sathiyan G 2-1 Mihai Bobocica [8-11, 11-9, 11-9]
Orawan Paranang 2-1 Yangzi Liu [11-7, 11-10, 6-11]
Sathiyan/Orawan 2-1 Harmeet/Yangzi [11-7, 11-4, 7-11]
Andreas Levenko 1-2 Harmeet Desai [11-7, 8-11, 9-11]
Diya Chitale 2-1 Yashaswini Ghorpade [11-10, 11-6, 3-11]
