UTT 2023 Final: Goa Challengers crowned champions after thrilling win - Highlights
Ultimate Table Tennis Final: Goa Challengers beat favourites Chennai Lions over a marathon 15-game tie to win the 2023 UTT title.
Achanta Sharath Kamal and Yangzi Liu in action for Chennai Lions (UTT)
UTT 2023 Final: Achanta Sharath Kamal's Chennai Lions lost to Harmeet Desai's Goa Challengers in the final of the 2023 Ultimate Table Tennis in Pune on Sunday.
Harmeet Desai beat Benedikt Duda to give Goa an early 2-1 lead. Yangzi Liu brought scores level at 3-3. Sharath Kamal lost his match heavily to hand back the lead to Goa. Sutirtha Mukherjee gave Chennai a chance to pull off an unbelievable comeback by winning her first two games, but it was Reeth Rishya who won the final game to give the match and title to Goa.
Results: Men's Singles: Harmeet Desai 2-1 Benedikt Duda | Women's Singles: Suthasini Sawettabut 1-2 Yangzi Liu | Mixed Doubles: Harmeet/Suthasini 1-2 Sharath/Yangzi | Men's Singles: Alvaro Robles 3-0 Sharath Kamal | Women's Singles: Reeth Rishya 1-2 Sutirtha Mukherjee
As it happened:
MVP Of the League Female: Yangzi Liu
MVP Of the League Male: Benedikt Duda
IndianOil SuperServer of the League: Yangzi Liu
DafaNews Shot of the League: Archana Kamath
Reeth Rishya wins! Goa Challengers win! Nobody counted them as pre-tournament favourites. But they are the champions of the 2023 UTT.
Reeth looked like she would run away with the 2nd game, but Sutirtha mounts an unbelievable comeback. Takes the golden point to go 2-0 up against Reeth.
It all comes down to one game now. Today's final, 18 days of UTT action - all of it to be decided in one game between Reeth Rishya and Sutirtha Mukherjee. Here we go!
Sutirtha Mukherjee, who has not been in action for the last few days and has been on a few hospital trips, has to bear the burden of carrying Chennai back from the dead.
She does a good job in the first game. Wins 11-7.
Sharath Kamal loses his match by 0-3! Disaster for him and Chennai! robles takes off his shirt to celebrate, gets a ticking off from the chair umpire as a process.
He won't mind much, this win means that just another game in the women's singles match gives Goa the title. Time for the decider between Sutirtha and Reeth.
Sharath Kamal is unable to get the better of Robles and Chennai fall behind. Sharath needs to win the final game to give Chennai a fair chance in the deciding women's singles tie now.
A shot that glances off the edge of the table gives Robles the first game and gets the scoreline level again. 11-8 to Robles. Sharath now needs to come up with a Thala-esque show.
Tie Result: Goa Challengers 4-5 Chennai Lions
Harmeet Desai 2-1 Benedikt Duda (6-11, 11-4, 11-8)
Suthasini Sawettabut 1-2 Yangzi Liu (11-7, 6-11, 5-11)
Harmeet/Suthasini 1-2 Sharath/Yangzi (7-11, 9-11, 11-10)
This match could have gone on for hours! It finally ends with a golden point. Harmeet and Suthasini lose the match 1-2, but this is of huge consequence in the light of the final.
Next Up is the last men's singles match of the season between Sharath and Alvaro. As long as Alvaro can keep Goa between touching distance of Chennai in this match, we should be set for a cracker of a last match between Reeth and Sutirtha.
What a close game! Abd it's Sharath and Chennai who close it out. Chennai are now pulling away with a lead. 5-3 to them with one game left in the mixed doubles.