Panaji (Goa), July 11 (IANS) Taneesha Kotecha held her nerve to beat much-fancied Diya Chitale 2-1 (11-7, 11-2, 9-11) in a thrilling finish to give her side HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades an 8-7 victory in their Season 7 clash in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) in Goa on Friday.

The 19-year-old Kotecha showed far better composure and determination to win the first two games against the world No 77 Chitale, giving her side the decisive lead in the tie, which was placed tantalisingly close at 6-6.

Earlier, PBG Pune Jaguars made a bright start in the second tie of the day, as Snehit SFR defeated Ankur Bhattacharjee 2-1 (11-9, 11-4, 5-11) in the opening men’s singles.

HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades responded immediately through Singapore’s Zeng Jian, who levelled the tie with a 2-1 (11-6, 11-7, 8-11) victory over Prithika Pavade in the women’s singles.

Kolkata continued holding the lead in the mixed doubles, with Eduard Ionescu and Ayhika Mukherjee edging past Snehit and Prithika 2-1 (7-11, 11-10, 11-6).

Omar Assar came back from a game down against Eduard Ionescu 2-1 (5-11, 11-6, 11-4) to equalise the score at six-all, pushing Pune to the deciding women’s singles match to decide the winner.

Earlier, Dabang Delhi TTC staged an impressive comeback to defeat UP Prometheans 9-6 and begin their Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 with a win in the opening double-header at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium on Friday.

While the final score suggested a comfortable victory, Delhi had to work hard as UP Prometheans pushed them in almost every contest. UP made the brighter start through star Indian paddler Manav Thakkar, who defeated Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz 2-1 (11-8, 11-5, 10-11) to give his side an early advantage.

The Table Tennis Review (TTR) system, introduced in Butterfly UTT Season 7, was used for the first time in India when Thakkar challenged a serve by Abdelaziz for ball visibility/ball hiding. His first two TTR appeals were successful, allowing him to retain the three allotted unsuccessful reviews for the tie. However, his third appeal for ball visibility was unsuccessful, with the review confirming that the ball remained visible in accordance with the regulations.

Dabang Delhi responded immediately as Spanish star Maria Xiao overcame Australia’s Yangzi Liu 2-1 (11-6, 11-7, 4-11) to level the tie. Xiao then combined with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to dominate the mixed doubles match, beating Thakkar and Liu in straight games 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-5) and putting Delhi ahead 2-1.

Gnanasekaran extended Delhi’s lead with another hard-fought 2-1 victory over Germany’s Ricardo Walther. The Indian paddler took the opening two games before Walther fought back in the third, with Gnanasekaran eventually winning 11-8, 11-6, 6-11.

UP stayed in the contest when Sayali Wani edged past Divyanshi Bhowmick 2-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-10), but it was not enough to deny Delhi the overall victory.

For her outstanding performance across singles and doubles, Xiao was named the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie, while Walther earned the Bisleri Shot of the Tie award for his superb 11-6 run in the third game of his match against Gnanasekaran.

Earlier in the day, Dream UTT Juniors, Butterfly UTT’s grassroots competition running alongside Season 7, continued in Goa. U Mumba TT began on a positive note, registering a 5-4 victory against Dempo Goa Challengers, while HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades continued their winning run by recording a 5-4 triumph against Ahmedabad APL Pipers.

Final scores:

Kolkata ThunderBlades bt PBG Pune Jaguars 8-7

Ankur Bhattercharya lost to Snehit SFR 1-2 (9-11, 4-11, 11-5)

Zeng Jian bt Prithika Pavade 2-1 (11-6, 11-7, 8-11)

Eduard Ionescu/Ayhika Mukherjee bt Snehit SFR/Prithika Pavade 2-1 (7-11, 11-10, 11-6)

Eduard Ionescu lost to Omar Assar 1-2 (11-5, 6-11, 4-11)

Taneesha Kotecha bt Diya Chitale 2-1 (11-7, 11-2, 9-11)

Dabang Delhi TTC bt UP Prometheans 9-6

Youssef Abdelaziz lost to Manav Thakkar 1-2 (8-11, 5-11, 11-10)

Maria Xiao bt Yangzi Liu 2-1 (11-6, 11-7, 4-11)

Maria Xiao/G Sathiyan bt Yangzi Liu/Manav Thakkar 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-5)

G Sathiyan bt Ricardo Walther 2-1 (11-8, 11-6, 6-11)

Divyanshi Bhowmick lost to Sayali Wani 1-2 (11-9, 5-11, 10-11)

–IANS

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