Szocs leads from the front as U Mumba clinches maiden title
The draw ended up being extremely challenging against it. Still, U Mumba overcame all the challenges to lay its hands on the coveted Ultimate Table Tennis trophy for the first time by polishing Jaipur Patriots off 8-4 in the summit clash on Sunday.
Riding on an all-round performance — with captain Bernadette Szocs leading from the front — U Mumba controlled the final ever since Lilian Bardet bounced back after conceding the opening game to Patriots' captain Kanak Jha. The convincing win meant U Mumba was richer by ₹60 lakh, with Patriots getting ₹40 lakh for the runners-up spot.
The semifinalists — Dempo Goa Challengers and Dabang Delhi TT — each received a cheque worth ₹17.50 lakh.
Despite Jha being an overwhelming favourite to put Patriots in charge, Bardet gained control and his audacious winners forced the former into errors.
Once he put U Mumba in lead, Szocs doubled the advantage by avenging her league stage loss to Sreeja Akula, the only unbeaten player in the tournament.
Besides her heavy forehand topspins, it was world No. 12 Szocs' ability to block Sreeja's powerful forehand winners that turned out to be the difference.
At 4-2, Szocs remained in the arena with Akash Pal — India's best doubles player — joining her.
The duo eased past Jeet Chandra and Britt Eerland with a clean slate.
The highlight was Pal's side-spins from the back of the court and exceptional down-the-line winners he produced. It put U Mumba on the cusp of a triumph, leading 7-2. All that was required of P.B. Abhinandh or Yashaswini Ghorpade was to snatch a game off their senior opponents.
Calculated risks
While Jeet's calculated risks paved off in the first two games, Abhinandh — who wasted a 6-2 lead in the second — was exceptional with his serves in the third to close out the game and with it the tie.
It meant Yashaswini, the star of Saturday's great escape against Goa Challengers, entered the arena only to join in the celebrations.
The result: U Mumba TT bt Jaipur Patriots 8-4 (Lilian Bardet bt Kanak Jha 4-11, 11-5, 11-7; Bernadette Szocs bt Sreeja Akula 11-9, 10-11, 11-5; Szocs & Akash Pal bt Britt Eerland & Jeet Chandra 11-6, 11-5, 11-5; P.B. Abhinandh lost to Jeet Chandra 5-11, 8-11, 11-8).
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