GOA: There was a sense of lost hope when U Mumba went on to lose their first two games in season seven of Ultimate Table Tennis. They had lost key players like PB Abhinandh and Bernadette Szocs from their title-winning 2025 season to Dempo Goa Challengers in the auction before the season.
Cut to Sunday's final, and the team successfully defended their title against a heavily-fancied Goa team, after beating Kolkata Thunder Blades in the semifinals. U Mumba produced a stirring comeback to end Goa's historic unbeaten run with an 8-5 victory at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium.
Trailing 4-2 after the opening two matches, the defending champions responded spectacularly. Captain Manush Shah and Anna Hursey ignited the turnaround with a commanding mixed doubles victory before Manush produced a captain's win against Alvaro Robles. Anusha Kutumbale then held her nerve in a dramatic decider against Syndrela Das to seal the title, handing Goa their first and only defeat of the season. The triumph saw U Mumba draw level with Goa as the competition's most successful franchise, with two titles each.
Speaking on the league’s impact, Mrs Dani said, “For me, the most important objective is to promote the sport and ensure that Indian players benefit the most from initiatives like these. When we launched this league, we said Indian players had to improve and that India had to win an Olympic medal, and that remains our goal. We are getting closer with every passing year."
The title clash opened with one of the season's marquee contests as breakout Indian star Abhinandh PB defeated Lilian Bardet 2-1, winning the opening two games. Bernadette Szocs then rallied from a game down against Anna Hursey to extend Goa's advantage to 4-2.
U Mumba found inspiration in the mixed doubles. Manush and Hursey stretched their winning streak as a pair to six matches, sweeping Robles and Syndrela Das in straight games to swing the momentum. The defending champions carried that confidence into the men's singles, where Manush recovered after dropping the opening game to Robles, edging a tense second game 11-10 before closing out the decider 11-5 to hand U Mumba a crucial 7-5 lead.
Everything came down to the final match. Facing Syndrela, Anusha showed composure under pressure. Syndrela erased a 5-9 deficit to level at 10-10, but Anusha held her nerve to clinch the decisive point 11-10, sparking jubilant celebrations. The title also marked a successful campaign for coaches John Murphy and Jay Modak, who were brought back by the franchise and guided the team to a second consecutive Butterfly UTT crown.
The league's top individual performers were recognised at the conclusion of the season. U Mumba TT captain Manush and teammate Hursey were named the Men's and Women's Most Valuable Players respectively, while PBG Pune Jaguars’ Omar Assar claimed the Shot of the League award. Dempo Goa Challengers' breakout star Abhinandh PB was honoured as the ChatGPT Player of the League.
Meanwhile, their contributions in the final earned Manush and Hursey the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie awards, respectively. Manush also collected the ChatGPT Player of the Tie and the Bisleri Shot of the Tie to cap an unforgettable evening.
U Mumba also completed a memorable double after also lifting the Dream UTT Juniors title earlier in the month, becoming the first team to do so and capping a remarkable campaign for the franchise.
Final Score
U Mumba TT 8-5 Dempo Goa Challengers
Lilian Bardet lost to Abhinandh PB 1-2 (7-11, 9-11, 11-6)
Anna Hursey lost to Bernadette Szocs 1-2 (11-5, 7-11, 7-11)
Manush Shah/Anna Hursey bt. Alvaro Robles/Syndrela Das 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-9)
Manush Shah bt Alvaro Robles 2-1 (6-11, 11-10, 11-5)
Anusha Kutumbale bt. Syndrela Das 1-0 (11-10)