UTT: Harmeet leads Goa to back-to-back titles
With the title on the line, the two captains faced off in the opening match. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who has had a better win percentage than Harmeet Desai, started strong and won the first match.
Goa Challengers team pose with the trophy
CHENNAI: Goa Challengers made history in Chennai on Saturday by becoming the first team in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) to successfully defend their championship. They defeated Dabang Delhi 8-2 to win the title.
With the title on the line, the two captains faced off in the opening match. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who has had a better win percentage than Harmeet Desai, started strong and won the first match. In the second match, Sathiyan entered the time-out with a lead, but Harmeet rallied from behind to level the scores. A decisive flick return from Harmeet, deep into Sathiyan's side, caught Sathiyan off guard and secured the second match for Goa. The third match began with one in a billion moment: Harmeet made a slip-up during a return, expecting the ball to come down, but a deceptive backspin fooled him, eliciting cheers from the crowd for the amazing run of play. Sathiyan then lost a couple of points on his own serve, allowing Harmeet to clinch the men’s single’s match.
The women’s tie saw world number 36 Yangzi Liu dominate Thailand’s Orawan Paranang, who is ranked two places lower. Yangzi powered through the first match, and the second match was closely contested, going to a golden point. A backhand error by Orawan allowed Goa to win the second match. The third match followed a similar fate, with Yangzi sweeping the women’s tie.
After their singles contests, the players from both the teams lined up for the mixed doubles matchup. Goa had the final say, clinching the first and third matches to win the mixed doubles contest 2-1.
Goa was almost there as Romania’s Mihai Bobocia took on Ukraine’s Andreas Levenko, Mihai was leading from the start and Goa went into the timeout with a two point lead. Mihai with some beautiful forehand shots sealed the deal and the championship for Goa as they were crowned champions for the second time in a row.
BRIEF SCORES: Athlead Goa Challengers bt Dabang Delhi TTC 8-2
Harmeet Desai bt Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 2-1 (6-11, 11-9, 11-6);
Yangzi Liu bt Orawan Paranang 3-0 (11-2, 11-10, 11-9);
Harmeet Desai/Yangzi Liu vs Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Orawan Paranang 2-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9); Mihai Bobocica vs Andreas Levenko 1-0 (11-7)