Panaji (Goa): Indian great Sathiyan Gnanasekaran steadied the Dabang Delhi TTC ship with a captain’s performance, pitching in with crucial wins in the Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles matches as the former champions beat Ahmedabad APL Pipers 9-6 in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 on Monday.
Clashing at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Delhi and Ahmedabad traded early blows before Sathiyan combined with Maria Xiao to reclaim the advantage in the mixed doubles. The Delhi skipper then took complete control of the tie with a commanding straight-games victory over Payas, laying the foundation for the franchise’s third win of the campaign.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Butterfly UTT Season 7 features 42 players from around the world, including 14 Olympians, while continuing to strengthen the Indian table tennis ecosystem through elite competition and year-round development initiatives.
Delhi struck first as Youssef Abdelaziz edged Adrien Rassenfosse in a gripping three-game contest, sealing victory on Golden Point. Ahmedabad’s standout foreign ace Sofia Polcanova restored parity with another Golden Point triumph over Maria Xiao, continuing her outstanding Season 7 campaign. The momentum then swung Delhi’s way as Sathiyan and Xiao returned to winning ways in the mixed doubles, defeating Payas and Polcanova to hand the former champions the initiative.
With the tie finely poised, captain Sathiyan produced a statement performance. Having found himself on the wrong side of recent meetings against Payas, the Indian stalwart responded emphatically with a commanding straight-games victory to put Delhi in complete control. Ahmedabad skipper Manika Batra rounded off the evening with another impressive singles win over Sutirtha Mukherjee, but Delhi had already done enough to secure a crucial 9-6 victory and strengthen their playoff hopes.
Sathiyan was named both the Match IQ Player and Indian Player of the Tie, while Polcanova claimed the Foreign Player of the Tie award. Polcanova also picked up the Bisleri Shot of the Tie honour.
Final scores:
Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6 Ahmedabad APL Pipers
Youssef Abdelaziz bt. Adrien Rassenfosse 2-1 (11-6, 5-11, 11-10)
Maria Xiao lost to Sofia Polcanova 1-2 (2-11, 11-9, 10-11)
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao bt. Paya Jain/Sofia Polcanova 2-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-4)
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bt. Payas Jain 3-0 (11-10, 11-8, 11-7)
Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Manika Batra 2-1 (5-11, 3-11, 11-9)
(IANS)
