Dabang Delhi TTC captain Sathiyan Gnanasekaran put on a dazzling show against Athlead Goa Challengers’ Mihai Bobocica at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, setting the stage for his team’s first win of UTT 2024. In the battle of the Olympians, Bobocica struck first, taking Game 1 11-8 via a 23-shot rally, the longest of the season so far. However, Sathiyan retaliated with an inspired comeback and took games two and three to claim the match.
The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
In the tie’s first women’s singles, Dabang Delhi TTC’s Orawan Paranang scripted history by becoming the first paddler to defeat Yangzi Liu in UTT. Paranang stunned her opponent with an 11-7 win in Game 1, before taking Game 2 and, consequently, the match on a Golden Point. Liu claimed Game 3 to reduce the deficit of her defeat.
In the mixed doubles that followed, Paranang got the better of Liu again, this time alongside her partner Sathiyan. The Dabang Delhi TTC pair together beat Liu and Harmeet Desai, two games to one.
Later, in the second men’s singles, Athlead Goa Challengers captain Harmeet bounced back from a game down to beat Andreas Levenko 2-1. The UTT 2023 winner sustained the Austrian’s aggressive forehand attacks, bounced back in style, and registered his first match win of this season.
Diya Chitale, who recorded her first win in Dabang Delhi TTC’s previous tie, made it two in a row for herself with her decisive win over Athlead Goa Challengers’ Yashaswini Ghorpade. Her triumph, as it happened, led the team from Delhi over the line.
For their role in Dabang Delhi TTC’s win, Sathiyan and Paranang claimed the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie honours, respectively. Sathiyan also took home the DafaNews Shot of the Tie gong, while Bobocica, unsurprisingly, won the ACT Fastest Rally of the Tie.
Thursday’s sole tie will see PBG Bengaluru Smashers take on Jaipur Patriots at 19:30, with the former looking to prolong their unbeaten run to three ties in UTT 2024.
UTT 2024 is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (Outside India). Tickets are available online on BookMyShow and offline at the box office near Gate no. 1 of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
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