Latest news with #UTT)Season6
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
UTT Season 6: U Mumba qualify for semis, end Dabang Delhi's unbeaten streak
U Mumba TT secured the fourth and final semi-final spot with a 10-5 win over Dabang Delhi TTC in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Thursday. While the defeat ended Delhi's four-tie winning run, the Season 2 champions still finished top of the league table with 44 points. Both teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before kick-off to pay respect to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash tragedy. Lilian Bardet gave U Mumba TT the perfect start, defeating Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 2-1 in the opening singles rubber. After edging a close first game 11-10, Bardet dropped the second 4-11 but responded strongly with an 11-4 win in the decider. Bernadette Szocs followed it up with a 2-1 win over Diya Chitale. Chitale took the first game 11-3, but Szocs levelled with a narrow 11-10 Golden Point win and closed out the match 11-8. The momentum carried into the mixed doubles, where Szocs partnered Akash Pal to beat Izaac Quek and Diya Chitale in the opening game, confirming U Mumba's place in the semifinals. Delhi, however, bounced back, winning the remaining two games and, subsequently, the match. Abhinandh PB added two more points for U Mumba with a 2-1 win over Singapore's Izaac Quek. Abhinandh, in his first appearance of the season, started strong, taking the first two games, before Izaac pulled one back with an 11-7 win, enough to take Dabang Delhi to the top of the table. In the final rubber, Yashaswini Ghorpade defeated her World Youth Championships 2023 teammate Suhana Saini 3-0, winning two tight games on Golden Point before closing the match 11-3. Szocs picked up the double honours of the Foreign Player and Shot of the Tie, while Yashaswini was named the Indian Player of the Tie. Dabang Delhi will now face Jaipur Patriots in the first semi-final, while reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers will take on U Mumba TT in the second. The winners of the respective ties will compete in the Grand Finale on June 15. U Mumba TT 10-5 Dabang Delhi TTC Lilian Bardet bt. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 2-1 (11-10, 4-11, 11-4) Bernadette Szocs bt. Diya Chitale 2-1 (3-11, 11-10, 11-8) Akash Pal/Bernadette Szocs lost to Izaak Quek/Diya Chitale 1-2 (11-5, 7-11, 5-11) Abhinandh PB bt. Izaac Quek 2-1 (11-4, 11-9, 7-11) Yashaswini Ghorpade bt. Suhana Saini 3-0 (11-10, 11-10, 11-3)
Hans India
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
UTT Season 6: Stanley's Chennai Lions eye breakthrough against Harmeet Desai-driven Dempo Goa Challengers
Stanley's Chennai Lions will be searching for their first tie win of the campaign when they take on reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Monday. Chennai may still be searching for their first tie win of the season, but UTT's distinctive format–where every game matters–has kept them firmly in the playoff conversation. Despite four straight defeats, Chennai sit fifth on the table, level on points with Dempo Goa Challengers, thanks to narrow margins and consistent game hauls. With an average of 6.5 games won per tie, they remain one of the most dangerous teams in the league – even without a tie win. Much of that credit goes to Fan Siqi and Payas Jain. China's Fan, who suffered her first loss of the season against Yashaswini Ghorpade in the previous tie, remains one of the league's most dominant paddlers across serve and shot stats. Payas, meanwhile, has quietly become one of the most complete players in the league - his serve success ranks second (64%), forehand fourth (51%), and backhand inside the top 10. A possible face-off between him and Harmeet Desai - Goa's unbeaten talisman - could be pivotal. Fan's potential match-up against Zeng Jian or Krittwika Sinha Roy, both of whom are also yet to lose this season, is one to keep an eye on, too. Reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers come in as the more settled outfit, gunning for a third straight playoffs appearance. At the core of their campaign are Harmeet, Zeng, and Krittwika – collectively contributing 18 of Goa's 26 points (after three ties). Harmeet, in particular, has been sharp, boasting the third-best backhand win rate in the league (42%), while Zeng continues to boss both flanks with top-five win percentages on forehand and backhand. With Tiago Apolonia and the Harmeet-Zeng duo still looking for consistency in doubles, Goa will be eyeing this tie as a chance to firm up their top-four credentials. However, Chennai's resilience and their ability to keep every tie close mean this could be a crucial swing fixture in the playoff race. Squads- Stanley's Chennai Lions: Fan Siqi (China), Kirill Gerassimenko (Kazakhstan), Payas Jain, Sudhanshu Grover, Poymantee Baisya, Nikhat Banu. Dempo Goa Challengers: Zeng Jian (Singapore), Harmeet Desai, Tiago Apolonia (Portugal), Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Sayali Wani.
