Ahmedabad, June 10 (IANS) Indian ace Snehit Suravajjula pulled off one of the biggest upsets of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6, sweeping past World no. 26 Quadri Aruna in straight games to help Ahmedabad SG Pipers edge Kolkata ThunderBlades 8-7 on Tuesday.
Despite their narrow victory, Ahmedabad’s chances of making the playoffs were dashed, effectively ending their UTT Season 6 run. Meanwhile, Kolkata will have to wait until the final two ties to discover their fate. The outcome also confirmed that Dempo Goa Challengers and Dabang Delhi TTC have qualified for the playoffs.
The evening began with high drama as Ricardo Walther handed Ankur Bhattacharjee his first loss of the season. Ankur started strong, surging to a 7-1 lead in the opener, but Walther mounted a remarkable comeback to take it 11-10. The German veteran followed up with an 11-5 win in the second game, sealing the match and breaking Ankur’s unbeaten streak. Ankur salvaged the final game to keep Kolkata in the hunt.
Ayhika Mukherjee then edged the first game against Puerto Rican ace Adriana Diaz in the women’s singles, but Diaz bounced back strongly to dominate the next two games, closing the decider 11-1 to level the tie. In mixed doubles, Ankur and Diaz held their nerve in crunch moments, taking a tight 2-1 win over Walther and Ayhika.
Snehit, still looking for his first win of the season, delivered a sensational 3-0 sweep of Aruna in the fourth match with controlled aggression and fearless forehand play. The Indians came back from 9-10 in the opener and 5-8 in the second, finishing with a flurry to seal one of the biggest upsets of the campaign. In the final rubber, Tamil Nadu talents Yashini Sivashankar and Selena Selvakumar—recent doubles partners on the WTT Star Contender Chennai circuit—faced off, with Selena clinching her first win of the season, 2-1.
Snehit and Diaz were named the Indian and the Foreign Player of the Tie, respectively, while Walther claimed the Shot of the Tie award.
Final scores:
Ahmedabad SG Pipers 8-7 Kolkata ThunderBlades:
Ricardo Walther bt. Ankur Bhattacharjee 2-1 (11-10, 11-5, 10-11)
Ayhika Mukherjee lost to Adriana Diaz 1-2 (11-10, 8-11, 1-11)
Ricardo Walther/Ayhika Mukherjee lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz 1-2 (10-11, 11-8, 7-11)
Snehit Suravajjula bt. Quadri Aruna 3-0 (11-10, 11-9, 11-8)
Yashini Sivashankar lost to Selena Selvakumar 1-2 (10-11, 11-4, 10-11)
–IANS
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