Pune: India's Ayhika Mukherjee, World No. 135, upset World No. 26 Lily Zhang as Dabang Delhi TTC beat U Mumba TT 11-4 to register their second victory in the ongoing IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune on Monday.
The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
Ayhika fought for every point and won 2-1 against Lily of the USA to lay the foundation for her franchise's victory.
The first game saw a nail-biting battle as Lily and Ayhika showcased immaculate backhands to win points. In the end, it was the American paddler who pocketed the game through a golden point.
Both players continued their fighting spirit in the second game as well which went into the favour of Ayhika through a golden point. The West Bengal-born paddler showed tremendous mental fortitude as she won the decider through a golden point to clinch the match.
Earlier, Jon Persson defeated Manav Thakkar 3-0 in an exciting contest. Manav looked out of touch early on as Persson quickly reached 10-2 in the opening game before Manav earned six back-to-back points to enthral the audience. However, the Swedish paddler held his nerve to win the first game 11-8 with an accurate forehand.
The second game also saw the Surat-based paddler making Persson sweat for every point before the Dabang Delhi TTC player took the game by 11-8. Persson won the following game 11-7 with his incredible shots on both flanks.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Barbora Balazova beat Manav and Lily 2-1 in the third match (Mixed doubles) of the tie to further extend Dabang Delhi TTC's lead. The first game went to the U Mumba TT's pair by 11-5 before Sathiyan and Barbora clinched the next two 11-5, 11-8 to win the match.
World No. 18 Quadri Aruna defeated Sathiyan 2-1 in the penultimate tie but could not save U Mumba TT from a defeat. Quadri clinched the first two games 11-6, 11-6 before the Indian paddler took the third by 11-8 to take his franchise to win.
In the last match of the tie, Sreeja Akula beat Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) to complete a perfect victory for Dabang Delhi TTC.
All the Season 4, powered by DafaNews, ties start at 7.30 PM with broadcast on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema. The tickets are available on BookMyShow.
Tie Result:
Dabang Delhi TTC 11-4 U Mumba TT
Jon Persson 3-0 Manav Thakkar (11-8, 11-8, 11-7)
Ayhika Mukherjee 2-1 Lily Zhang (10-11, 11-10, 11-10)
Sathiyan/Barbora 2-1 Manav/Lily (5-11, 11-5, 11-8)
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 1-2 Quadri Aruna (6-11, 6-11, 11-8)
Sreeja Akula 3-0 Diya Chitale (11-8, 11-9, 11-8)
