Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 witnessed its first upset as debutants Ahmedabad SG Pipers triumphed over reigning champions Athlead Goa Challengers. Led by captain Manush Shah, the Ahmedabad franchise secured their maiden victory in the tournament.
Shah played a pivotal role, defeating two-time Olympian Mihai Bobocica 2-1 in the men’s singles. Earlier, he partnered with Bernadette Szocs to achieve the same scoreline in the mixed doubles. Frenchman Lilian Bardet also contributed significantly, beating Harmeet Desai 3-0 in the first men’s singles.
Szocs bounced back from her previous loss to Ayhika Mukherjee by defeating Yashaswini Ghorpade in the first women’s singles. The mixed doubles pairing of Shah and Szocs outplayed Harmeet and Yangzi Liu 2-1, handing the tie to Ahmedabad.
Reeth Rishya had the opportunity to secure the biggest margin of victory for Ahmedabad, but Liu prevented her from doing so. In the earlier tie, U Mumba TT recorded their first-ever UTT win over Dabang Delhi TTC by 9-6. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran upset World no. 20 Quadri Aruna, while Sutirtha Mukherjee and the pairing of Manav Thakkar and Maria Xiao played crucial roles.
Manav sealed the tie for U Mumba TT by defeating Andreas Levenko, while Orawan Paranang reduced the margin of defeat for Delhi. Tomorrow’s ties will see Dabang Delhi TTC face Chennai Lions and U Mumba TT take on Jaipur Patriots.
