Experience the excitement as reigning champions U Mumba secure their first Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7 victory, with Anusha Kutumbale delivering a stunning Golden Point performance against unbeaten Dabang Delhi TTC.
Key Points
- U Mumba secured their first victory of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7, defeating Dabang Delhi TTC 8-7.
- Anusha Kutumbale clinched the win for U Mumba in a dramatic Golden Point finish during the final women's singles match.
- Dabang Delhi TTC suffered their first defeat of the season against the reigning champions.
- Dempo Goa Challengers became the first team to qualify for the UTT Juniors semifinals.
- HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades improved their playoff chances with a win over PBG Pune Jaguars.
Anusha Kutumbale held her nerve in a dramatic Golden Point finish to guide reigning champions U Mumba to their first victory of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7. U Mumba sealed a thrilling 8-7 win over unbeaten Dabang Delhi TTC in Panaji on Wednesday.
Youssef Abdelaziz gave Delhi the early advantage by defeating Manush Shah in three games, but Anna Hursey responded with another statement performance, coming from behind to beat Sutirtha Mukherjee 2-1 and hand the Delhi paddler her first game–and first match–defeat of the campaign.
U Mumba then struck another significant blow as Hursey and Manush stunned the previously unbeaten pairing of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Maria Xiao, ending their seven-match winning streak stretching across Seasons 6 and 7.
U Mumba tightened their grip through Lilian Bardet, who overcame Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in another closely fought three-game battle. In doing so, the Frenchman also maintained his unbeaten international record against the Indian veteran.
The tie came down to a dramatic final women's singles contest, where Anusha needed just one game to secure victory for U Mumba.
Delhi's Spanish stalwart Maria Xiao, however, refused to go quietly, saving four tie points to steal the opening game before taking the second to level the tie at 7-7. With the contest hinging on a winner-takes-all decider, Anusha held her nerve in a tense Golden Point finish to clinch U Mumba's first victory of the season.
UTT Juniors See Semifinalists Emerge
Earlier in the day, Dream UTT Juniors, UTT's grassroots competition running alongside Season 7, saw Dempo Goa Challengers become the first team to secure a semifinal berth with a commanding 7-2 victory over Ahmedabad APL Pipers. HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades also strengthened their playoff push, edging PBG Pune Jaguars 5-4 to climb to second.
