Ultimate Table Tennis: Harmeet, Robles deliver as Goa Challengers beat Chennai Lions 8-7 to win title

Goa Challengers bested Chennai Lions by 8-7 to win the fourth season of the Ultimate Table Tennis league. India’s number one paddler Harmeet Desai and World Championships medallist Alvaro Robles helped Goa Challengers in coming on top against Chennai Lions at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune on Sunday.

The final went down to the wire but it was Goa Challengers, who kept their nerves in the end. It was Goa’s maiden title in the Ultimate Table Tennis, which kicked off after four-year hiatus because of Covid-19.

Goa Challengers will be awarded a sum of INR 75 lakhs whereas Chennai Lions will receive a prize of INR 50 lakhs for finishing as the runners-up.

Meanwhile, Harmeet Desai got the better of Benedikt Duda by 2-1 to give Goa Challengers a perfect start in the tie. Duda won the first game of the match but Desai made a prolific comeback in the final two games. This was Duda’s first loss of the season.

The final came down to the last match – India’s Reeth Rishya Tennison vs Sutirtha Mukherjee. Goa needed one game to win whereas Chennai needed to win all three. Sutirtha kept Chennai’s hopes alive as she won the first two games but in the end, Reeth Tennison kept her nerves to win the title for Goa Challengers.

Goa Challengers 8-7 Chennai Lions

Results:

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)

Alvaro Robles 3-0 Sharath Kamal (11-8, 11-8, 11-10)

Reeth Tennison 1-2 Sutirtha Mukherjee (7-11, 10-11, 11-6)