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Key Points

U Mumba pulled off a stunning 10-5 victory over previously unbeaten Dabang Delhi to secure the last semifinal spot in UTT season 6. Bernadette Szocs starred with crucial wins in both singles and mixed doubles, earning double honors for her performance. The match began with emotional tributes as both teams honored Ahmedabad plane crash victims. U Mumba will now face defending champions Dempo Goa in the semifinals while Delhi takes on Jaipur Patriots.

Key Points: U Mumba stun Dabang Delhi to reach UTT season 6 semifinals

  • U Mumba ends Delhi's 4-match winning streak
  • Bernadette Szocs wins crucial singles and mixed doubles
  • Abhinandh PB delivers in season debut
  • Yashaswini Ghorpade dominates with 3-0 victory
3 min read

UTT season 6: U Mumba qualify for semi-finals, end Dabang Delhi's unbeaten streak

U Mumba TT ends Dabang Delhi's unbeaten run with 10-5 victory, secures final semifinal spot in Ultimate Table Tennis season 6

"Szocs picked up double honours of Foreign Player and Shot of the Tie - UTT Match Report"

Ahmedabad, June 13

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.

Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, UTT continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, will take place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena.

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.

Final Scores

U Mumba TT 10-5 Dabang Delhi TTC

Lilian Bardet beat Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 2-1 (11-10, 4-11, 11-4)

Bernadette Szocs beat 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 beat Izaac Quek 2-1 (11-4, 11-9, 7-11)

Yashaswini Ghorpade beat Suhana Saini 3-0 (11-10, 11-10, 11-3).

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
What a match! U Mumba showed real grit to break Delhi's winning streak. Yashaswini's performance was 🔥 - winning two Golden Points back-to-back shows her mental toughness. Hope she continues this form in semis!
P
Priya M.
Respect to both teams for honoring the Ahmedabad tragedy victims before the match. Sports brings people together in difficult times. On performance - Szocs was outstanding today, but our Indian players like Abhinandh and Yashaswini are showing great promise too!
A
Amit S.
UTT is getting better each season! The level of competition is world-class now. Though I feel Indian players need more exposure against foreign opponents - that's where we can see the real gap in consistency. More such leagues please!
N
Neha P.
Mixed feelings about this match. Happy for U Mumba but worried about Diya Chitale's form. She started strong but couldn't maintain momentum. Hope she bounces back stronger! Also, where was Manika Batra in this tie?
S
Sanjay V.
Golden Point drama was nail-biting! Table tennis is becoming as exciting as cricket these days. The foreign players are raising the bar, which is good for our Indian paddlers. EKA Arena looks packed - great to see such crowds for TT!
K
Kavita R.
While the matches were thrilling, I wish the organizers would improve the streaming quality. Many of us outside Ahmedabad want to watch but face buffering issues. Otherwise, UTT is doing great work for Indian table tennis! 🇮🇳

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