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New Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
UTT 6: Promising Yashaswini making notable strides
AHMEDABAD: Yashaswini Ghorpade's career has been on an upwards trajectory. After conquering the junior level of table tennis, she has transitioned to the senior level. The 20-year-old won the senior nationals in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh last September before shining again in her hometown Bengaluru in December. A noteworthy moment of her nascent career, however, came when she defeated the Chinese paddler, World No 35, Fan Siqi last week in the season six of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. Donning the orange and black jersey of U Mumba TT, Yashaswini displayed mental fortitude, edging past Siqi, who represented the Chennai Lions. That she won from a 2-7 deficit in the deciding tie, against an unbeaten opponent then, made it extra special. "It was a very important match for me as well as for my team (against Chennai). I did believe in myself for that match and I kept going, despite going 2-7 down. I kept winning the points as well. The celebration was amazing. I didn't believe it," she recalled. Yashaswini's victory was a significant one as U Mumba TT went on to qualify for the playoffs after beating Dabang Delhi on Thursday. "It's been great playing with the team. We have bonded really well for almost three weeks already," she said. Working under the guidance of a familiar face in John Murphy, the head coach of U Mumba TT, has helped. The Irishman is renowned for bringing Australia to the top-100 rankings during his tenure there. "I have known John since my youth. He used to travel with the Australian team. He has been quite helpful in the camps there as well. Knowing him quite well from before has also helped us in bonding very well this year. He is a great coach," she added. Prior to the UTT 6, which started on May 31, Yashaswini made her debut in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships mid-May. She paired with paddler Diya Chitale and lost in the pre-quarterfinals in the women's doubles event. This run came amidst forgettable outings for other Indian paddlers. However, it was a great learning experience for the youngster. "It was a great feeling playing with high-level players. This tournament (World C'ships) is second only to the Olympics. Myself and Diya played really well and gave our best," she said. Transitioning to the senior level of any sport comes with a lot of challenges for young players. Yashaswini explained her transition. "I have learnt that the pressure that we feel before the match, many people don't get to feel it. We are very lucky to feel it. I like the pressure going forward. I have learnt along it (transition to senior levels) to believe in myself and to continue the process and enjoy the moment," she said. Twelve weeks after being inducted into the ranking system of the ITTF, she is ranked 79. After UTT concludes, Yashaswini will be focussing on improving her game before next year's Asian Games. "I will be taking part in the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar in October," she signed off. Yashaswini's level of performance is a welcome boost for Indian table tennis. Come Saturday, she will be hoping to inspire U Mumba during their semifinal encounter against defending champions Dempo Goa Challengers. Jaipur Patriots enter final It all came to the final, and the most-awaited match between Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale to decide the winner of the semifinal tie between Jaipur Patriots and Dabang Delhi on Friday. In the second and final women's singles match, Sreeja Akula got things running by taking the first set home 11-9. Chitale remained determined and took the second set 6-11. Sreeja seemed unfazed by the pressure of the deciding set and guided the Patriots to Sunday's final.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
The Goa challenge too strong for toothless Lions
Dempo Goa Challengers recovered from Sunday night's blip to cap off the league stage with a record victory against Stanley's Chennai Lions on Monday and cement a place in the Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 semifinals. Mauling The 12-3 mauling meant the double defending champion Goa Challengers entered the knockouts for the fourth season in a row, while the Lions ended a forgettable season on a sombre note, unable to qualify for the last four for the second consecutive season. It was only the third instance since UTT moved to a 15-game format per match that a team had won 12 points in a contest. Chennai Lions and Ahmedabad SG Pipers had defeated Puneri Paltan TT and Jaipur Patriots, respectively, by the same margin in UTT 2024. Even before the teams reached the EKA Arena, Goa Challengers had brought in Brazilian Vitor Ishiy as a replacement for Tiago Apolonia, who was yet to recover from a stomach bug. Captain Harmeet Desai blanked Kirill Gerassimenko to end a miserable campaign in yellow jersey for the Kazakh paddler. Zeng Jian then repeated the streak against Poymantee Baisya, with the diminutive Indian doing her best to stretch the third match into a golden point. It took the second game of the mixed doubles for the Lions to open their account, with Gerassimenko and Baisya winning the golden point. Payas Jain, the runner-up at the Senior Nationals in January, was expected to win against Ishiy but the Brazilian made a superb comeback with his counterplay to outsmart Payas' power. Krittwika Sinha Roy then stunned Fan Siqi – far from being 100 per cent – to make it a record win. The result: Dempo Goa Challengers bt Stanley's Chennai Lions 12-3 (Harmeet Desai bt Kirill Gerassimenko 11-7, 11-7, 11-5; Zeng Jian bt Poymantee Baisya 11-6, 11-8, 11-10; Zeng & Desai bt Baisya & Gerassimenko 11-2, 10-11, 11-5; Vitor Ishiy bt Payas Jain 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Fan Siqi 8-11, 11-9, 11-9). The standings: Dempo Goa Challengers 44 points (5 matches) Qualified, Dabang Delhi TTC 39 (4) Q, Jaipur Patriots 32 (4), U Mumba TT 32 (4), Kolkata ThunderBlades 29 (4), Stanley's Chennai Lions 29 (5), PBG Pune Jaguars 28 (4), Ahmedabad SG Pipers 22 (4). Tuesday's match: Ahmedabad SG Pipers vs Kolkata ThunderBlades (7.30 p.m.).
India Today
08-06-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Yashaswini Ghorpade stuns Fan Siqi as U Mumba, Jaipur Patriots dominate in UTT
India's 20-year-old rising star Yashaswini Ghorpade caused a major upset in IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Saturday, becoming the first player to beat China's Fan Siqi this season. Yashaswini's fearless performance helped U Mumba TT secure a 9-6 victory over Stanley's Chennai Lions at Ahmedabad's EKA in the day, Jeet Chandra led Jaipur Patriots to a dominant 11-4 win against Ahmedabad SG Pipers. Jeet stunned World No. 34 and World Championships silver medallist Ricardo Walther of Germany with a 2-1 singles victory, one of his biggest wins in the league so far. Jaipur Patriots climbed to the top of the table with this emphatic league, held under the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, continues to grow in stature as India's premier professional table tennis league. All 23 ties across 16 action-packed days are being played at EKA Arena, with matches broadcast live on Star Sports Khel and Star Sports 2 Tamil, and streamed on JioHotstar. In the U Mumba vs Chennai Lions tie, Lilian Bardet gave U Mumba a strong start with a 2-1 win over Kirill Gerassimenko. Yashaswini then faced Fan Siqi, who was unbeaten this season. Yashaswini dominated the first game 11-5, fell behind 2-7 and later 8-10 in the third game, before fighting back to win 11-10 on Golden Point — handing Fan her first defeat of the season.U Mumba's momentum continued as Akash Pal and Bernadette Szocs combined for a 2-1 mixed doubles win. Though Payas Jain levelled the tie with a 3-0 win over Akash, Szocs delivered a flawless 3-0 victory over Poymantee Baisya to seal the Patriots also featured strong performances from Kanak Jha, Britt Eerland, and Sreeja Akula, who secured the tie with a comeback win over Ayhika the Dream UTT Juniors semifinals, U Mumba TT and Kolkata ThunderBlades booked their spots in the final with solid team efforts, highlighting the league's focus on developing young talent.
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
UTT Season 6: Rising star Yashaswini Ghorpade topples China's Fan Siqi as U Mumba beat Chennai Lions
20-year-old Indian paddler Yashaswini Ghorpade sparked one of the big upsets of Ultimate Table Tennis season 6, beating former world number 11 Fan Siqi to help U Mumba TT seal a victory over Stanley's Chennai Lions this weekend. Ghorpade upset the Chinese player, ranked nearly 40 points ahead of her in the world rankings, winning the first game with ease 11-5, before coming back to seal the second 11-10. It was a show both of great promise and commendable resilience, as Ghorpade came back from 2-7 and 8-10 down in the second game, saving game point and then winning the match with a conversion on Golden Point. The Indian rising star became the first player to beat Fan Siqi in this year's edition of the UTT, and her victory helped U Mumba seal the victory over Chennai 9-6 in the tie. Yashaswini has already tasted victory in the UTT, having won season five while representing Goa Challengers as a teenager. Currently ranked 81 in the world, she is looking to continue a strong rise up the world rankings, which currently have five women from India ranked in the top 100. U Mumba rose to second in the table thanks to the win, with rising star Yashaswini supported by Lilian Bardet sealing the men's singles tie, before a mixed doubles win sealed the tie. World number 12 Bernadette Szocs put an exclamation mark on proceedings with a 3-0 victory in the second women's singles match of the tie. However, a commanding 11-4 win for Jaipur Patriots over Ahmedabad SG Pipers means the Rajasthan team remain at the top of the table. Yashaswini's win wasn't the only Indian upset on the day, as Jeet Chandra registered a win in the men's singles for the Patriots, beating world number 34 of Germany, Ricardo Walther.
News18
07-06-2025
- Sport
- News18
UTT: Yashaswini stuns Fan Siqi in U Mumba's win over Chennai Lions
Ahmedabad, Jun 7 (PTI) Rising star Yashaswini Ghorpade pulled off a massive upset, becoming the first paddler to beat China's Fan Siqi this UTT season in U Mumba TT's 9-6 win over Stanley's Chennai Lions here on Saturday. Earlier, Jeet Chandra upset World No. 34 Ricardo Walther of Germany as Jaipur Patriots recorded a dominant 11-4 win over Ahmedabad SG Pipers. U Mumba's Lilian Bardet continued his fine form with a 2-1 win over Kirill Gerassimenko, setting his team on their way. Then came the moment of the night as 20-year-old Yashaswini faced the unbeaten Fan and stunned the Chinese ace with a fearless performance. After dominating the opening game 11-5, Yashaswini fell behind 2-7 and then 8-10 in the third. Battling back, she reeled off three straight points to take the game 11-10 on Golden Point and hand Fan her first defeat of the season. The momentum continued with Akash Pal and Bernadette Szocs combining for a 2-1 mixed doubles win, though Payas Jain swept Akash 3-0 in the next rubber to bring Stanley's Chennai Lions level on the night. Szocs, however, delivered a flawless 3-0 win over Poymantee Baisya to secure the tie for U Mumba, who moved to second in the table. Earlier, Indian paddler Jeet Chandra led from the front as Jaipur Patriots beat Ahmedabad SG Pipers in a dominant 11-4 victory, climbing to the top of the table. Jeet stunned World Championships' silver medalist Walther 2-1 in singles, sealing one of his biggest wins yet. Jaipur started strongly as Kanak Jha overcame a gritty debut from Divyansh Srivastava, while Britt Eerland swept Giorgia Piccolin 3-0. Ahmedabad hit back through Walther and Ayhika Mukherjee in the mixed doubles, but Jaipur stayed in control, with Sreeja Akula wrapping up the tie with a 2-1 comeback win over Ayhika. PTI UNG PDS PDS First Published: June 07, 2025, 23:30 IST
