UTT Season 4: Ayhika stuns World No.26 Lily as Dabang Delhi beat U Mumba 11-4

Pune, July 24 (IANS) 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 Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here 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.

Tie result:

Dabang Delhi TTC beat U Mumba TT 11-4: Jon Persson beats Manav Thakkar 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-7); Ayhika Mukherjee beats Lily Zhang 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-10); Sathiyan/Barbora beats Manav/Lily 2-1 (5-11, 11-5, 11-8); Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Quadri Aruna 1-2 (6-11, 6-11, 11-8); Sreeja Akula beats Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8).