Manav Thakkar beats Sharath Kamal as U Mumba TT snatches narrow win over Chennai Lions

CHENNAI: Manav Thakkar pulled of a nail-biting victory against the experienced Achanta Sharath Kamal as U Mumba TT defeated Chennai Lions 8-7 in an exciting clash of the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Friday.

U Mumba TT thus jumped to the second spot on the league table with 29 points while Chennai Lions has 19 points. In a clash between youth and experience, the talented Thakkar staged a superb comeback after suffering an early reversal to carve out a 6-11, 11-8, 11-9 victory. Thakkar, who thus maintained his all-win record this season, anchored the victory for U Mumba TT.

Thakkar had teamed up with Spanish star Maria Xiao earlier in the evening to outclass the Chennai Lions pair of Sharath and Sakura Mori 11-7, 11-10, 11-4 in the mixed doubles match.

U Mumba TT, which was enjoying the lead at that point, seemed to be cruising to a comfortable win but super mom Mouma Das had other plans. The experienced Team India star almost took Chennai Lions past the line in the last match of the tie – the women’s singles – before Maria Xiao saved the day for U Mumba TT off the last shot of the tie.

Earlier, Nigeria star Aruna Quadri gave U Mumba TT the early lead with a hard-earned 10-11, 11-9, 11-7 victory against Jules Rolland. Both players were evenly matched in the early stages with points being traded back and forth.

However, Mori defeated Sutirtha Mukherjee in the women’s singles to help U Mumba TT draw level and set up the tie for an exciting finish.

Results: U Mumba TT bt Chennai Lions 8-7: Aruna Quadri beat Jules Roland 2-1 (10-11, 11-9, 11-7); Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Sakura Mori 0-3 (8-11, 10-11, 7-11); Maria Xiao/Manav Thakkar beat Sakura Mori/Sharath Kamal 3-0 (11-7, 11-10, 11-4); Manav Thakkar beat Achanta Sharath Kamal 2-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-9); Maria Xiao lost to Mouma Das 1-2 (10-11, 8-11, 11-10)