Panaji (Goa), July 11 (IANS) Asian Games medallist Sutirtha Mukherjee delivered when it mattered the most, guiding former champions Dabang Delhi TTC to a thrilling 8-7 victory over HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades after youngster Ankur Bhattacharjee had threatened to turn the contest on its head in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Delhi appeared headed for defeat after Ankur stunned experienced Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in straight games to hand Kolkata the advantage heading into the final rubber. However, Sutirtha responded with a commanding display against her long-time doubles partner Ayhika Mukherjee, winning all three games to complete a remarkable turnaround and preserve Delhi’s unbeaten run this season.

The tie began with the two overseas singles fixtures. Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Romania’s Eduard Ionescu 2-1, giving Delhi the early edge. Kolkata hit back immediately through Singapore’s Zeng Jian, who edged Spain’s Maria Xiao in a closely fought three-game contest to restore parity.

Delhi regained the initiative in the mixed doubles as Sathiyan and Maria Xiao defeated Ankur Bhattacharjee and Zeng Jian 2-1, ensuring the former champions carried a slender lead into the closing stages of the tie.

The momentum, however, shifted dramatically in the men’s singles. Roared on by the crowd, Ankur produced one of the biggest upsets of the season by defeating Sathiyan 3-0. The youngster rallied from 3-9 down to snatch the opening game on Golden Point before dominating the second. Sathiyan forced another Golden Point in the third, but Ankur held his nerve again to complete an impressive straight-games victory, leaving Kolkata needing just one more game to clinch the tie.

With Delhi under immense pressure, Sutirtha rose to the occasion. She recovered from an early deficit to take the opening game 11-6, then dominated the second 11-2. Carrying the momentum into the third, she closed out an 11-7 victory over Ayhika to seal an 8-7 triumph for her side.

For her decisive performance, Sutirtha was named the Indian Player of the Tie, while Ankur Bhattacharjee claimed both the Player of the Tie and Shot of the Tie awards. Singapore’s Zeng Jian received the Foreign Player of the Tie honour.

Earlier in the day, U Mumba TT continued their impressive run in the Dream UTT Juniors competition with a 7-2 victory over PBG Pune Jaguars, while Dempo Goa Challengers edged UP Prometheans 5-4, handing the latter their first defeat of the campaign.

–IANS

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