Taleigaon (Goa), July 14 (IANS) Indian youngster Sayali Wani scripted one of the most dramatic finishes in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), saving three successive tie points before defeating Indian icon Manika Batra on Golden Point to seal UP Prometheans’ first victory of Season 7. Battling back in a nail-biting tie, UP recorded an 8-7 win over Ahmedabad APL Pipers at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Taleigaon near Panaji on Tuesday.

The tie came down to the final game of the night, where Sayali produced a comeback for the ages. After dropping the opening game 11-5, the youngster recovered from 3-7 down to steal the second 11-8 before finding herself trailing 7-10 in the decider with UP staring at defeat. Unfazed, she saved all three tie points to force a Golden Point before sealing victory with remarkable composure to complete a stunning turnaround against one of India’s greatest table tennis names.

The match itself ebbed and flowed throughout the evening. Payas Jain recovered from a game down to defeat Sudhanshu Grover before Sofia Polcanova fought back to overcome two-time Butterfly UTT MVP Yangzi Liu, giving Ahmedabad an early advantage. UP responded emphatically through Ricardo Walther and Swastika Ghosh, whose straight-games mixed doubles victory, featuring two Golden Point wins, swung the tie firmly in their favour.

Adrien Rassenfosse then produced a battling three-game victory over Walther to level the contest once more, recovering from a second-game deficit in the process and ensuring the Women’s Singles would decide the outcome. That set the stage for Sayali’s unforgettable finish, delivering UP’s breakthrough victory in unforgettable fashion.

Sayali was named Indian Player of the Tie, while Swastika claimed the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie award. Walther took home the Foreign Player of the Tie honour, with Rassenfosse winning the Bisleri Shot of the Tie award.

Earlier in the day, Dream UTT Juniors, Butterfly UTT’s grassroots competition running alongside Season 7, saw Dabang Delhi TTC edge Dempo Goa Challengers 5-4 to continue their strong surge, moving to within a single game of fourth-placed Goa despite having played one tie fewer. UP Prometheans, meanwhile, climbed to second in the standings after registering their third win in four outings with a convincing 6-3 victory over HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades.

Final scores:

UP Prometheans 8-7 Ahmedabad APL Pipers

Sudhanshu Grover lost to Payas Jain 1-2 (11-5, 9-11, 5-11)

Yangzi Liu lost to Sofia Polcanova 1-2 (11-3, 10-11, 6-11)

Ricardo Walther/Swastika Ghosh bt. Payas Jain/Sofia Polcanova 3-0 (11-9, 11-10, 11-10)

Ricardo Walther lost to Adrien Rassenfosse 1-2 (6-11, 9-11, 11-9)

Sayali Wani bt. Manika Batra 2-1 (5-11, 11-8, 11-10)

–IANS

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