Defending champion Goa inches closer to UTT semis

CHENNAI: Defending champion Athlead Goa Challengers inched closer to the semi-finals with a narrow 8-7 win against U Mumba TT in a closely-contested Ultimate Table Tennis tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

Goa Challengers is now at the third spot on the league table with 37 points while U Mumba TT is placed fourth with 36 points.

In the first men’s singles, Aruna Quadri edged out Harmeet Desai 2-1 (11-7, 4-11, 11-10) in a tight contest to hand U Mumba TT the early advantage. Maria Xiao, who was later adjudged the Foreign Player of the Match, bolstered the lead for U Mumba TT with a 2-1 (9-11,11- 10-11, 11-9) win in the first women’s singles against Yangzi Liu, who has now lost three matches on the trot this season.

Yangzi Liu made amends when she joined Harmeet Desai to beat the U Mumba TT pair of Maria Xiao and Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-7) in the mixed doubles match to reduce the deficit for Goa.

Mihai Bobocica came up with an impressive performance to beat the talented Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 11-8, 7-11) as Goa drew level at six points each. Yashaswini Ghorpade, who was deservingly adjudged the Indian Player of the Tie, sealed the tie in favour of the defending champion with a 2-1 (11-8, 11-10, 10-11) victory against Sutirtha Mukherjee.

Results: Athlead Goa Challengers bt U Mumba TT 8-7: Harmeet Desai lost to Aruna Quadri 2-1 (7-11, 11-4, 10-11); Yangzi Liu lost to Maria Xiao 2-1 (11-9, 10-11, 9-11); Yangzi Liu/ Harmeet Desai bt Maria Xiao/Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-7); Mihai Bobocica bt Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 11-8, 7-11); Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Sutirtha Mukherjee 2-1 (11-8, 11-10, 10-11)