CHENNAI: Experienced Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran kicked off his fifth season in Dabang Delhi TTC colours with a sensational come-from-behind win over World no. 20 Quadri Aruna, the highest-ranked male player in the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. However, it did not stop U Mumba from beating Delhi 9-6.
Sathiyan found it difficult to get a foothold in his first game of the season and trailed 7-0 right at the start against his much higher-ranked opponent. The Indian Olympian bounced back with a sturdy defence and assertive smashers in games 2 and 3, winning by twin 11-9 scorelines to claim the match. Sathiyan's win over Aruna was his first against the African table tennis great in his career.
Despite Sathiyan's strong start for Delhi, Sutirtha Mukherjee wrested back control of the tie for Mumbai in the first women's singles match. Sutirtha beat youngster Diya Chitale in three straight games, setting the platform for an enticing mixed doubles bout.
Sathiyan returned to the table for the mixed doubles alongside partner Orawan Paranag. Meanwhile, the round saw the first appearance of the season for Manav Thakkar and Spaniard Maria Xiao. Despite their limited interaction so far, Manav and Xiao showed impeccable coordination to claim the match in Mumbai's favour, putting their team on the cusp of a historic win.
Manav then faced off against debutant Andreas Levenko in the second men's singles fixture and rapidly raced into a 2-0 lead, heaving Mumbai over the line and helping them register their first win over Delhi. Paranang later beat Xiao in the second women's singles to limit the damage of the reverse for the team from Delhi.
Later, Lilian Bardet and Bernadette Szocs' 3-0 wins in their respective singles fixtures helped Ahmedabad SG Pipers register their first win of the season against Athlead Goa Challengers. Ahmedabad won four out of five fixtures to stay ahead of the competition. From Goa, Yangzi Liu defeated Reeth Rishya 3-0 in the women's singles match, but it was not enough for her team.
Results:
U Mumba TT bt Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6
Ahmedabad SG Pipers bt Athlead Goa Challengers 10-5