Goa Challengers start with win

Harmeet Desai, Yangzi Liu help them beat newcomers Jaipur Patriots 9-6 in opener

Chennai: Athlead Goa Challengers began their title defence in style at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, defeating the Jaipur Patriots 9-6 in the season opener of the fifth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis.

Goa Challengers won the toss and served first in the Men’s Singles game, with captain Harmeet securing the maiden point of UTT 2024. The Indian star paddler raced into a 5-0 lead and took the first game by a whopping 11-2 scoreline. Cho Seungmin, however, retaliated in the second game, mirroring Harmeet’s efforts from the first; the debuting South Korean amassed a massive lead quickly and closed out the game 11-1. The debutant maintained his assertive shots in the deciding game and emerged victorious, 2-1.

The indomitable Liu turned the tables around in the second match, the Women’s Singles, propelling Goa Challengers into the lead by defeating the experienced Suthasini Sawettabut 3-0.

Harmeet, Liu, and Suthasini returned to the table and were joined by Ronit Bhanja for the Mixed Doubles. Harmeet and Liu, playing their first tie together, showed incredible coordination to take the first game 11-1. While Suthasini and Ronit recovered in game two, Harmeet and Liu took the match by edging the Jaipur Patriots pair in the deciding game.

Ronit faced Goa Challengers’ Mihai Bobocica in the fourth match, Men’s Singles again, with the Italian making his league bow aged 37. Two-time Olympian Bobocica came from behind to win 2-1, increasing his team’s lead to eight points and giving them a tie win.

Match five, a Women’s Singles game, between Yashaswini Ghorpade and Nithyashree Mani witnessed the first Golden Point of UTT 2024, which the latter claimed en route to securing a 2-1 win.

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