Panaji: Defending champions U Mumba TT turned the tables on unbeaten Dempo Goa Challengers 8-5 to retain the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) title at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium on Sunday.The final comprised two men’s singles, two women’s singles and a mixed doubles clash. The first to win eight games takes home the title.Going into the final, Goa were unbeaten in the league and had scored a 10-5 victory against the defending champions in the opening game.The home team were favourites and enjoyed an excellent start after Abhinandh PB raced to 2-0 (11-7, 11-9) advantage against Frenchman Lilian Bardet.
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The 18-year-old Indian dominated right from the start but Bardet managed to pull a game in the third to open Mumba’s account.The women’s first singles saw Romanian Olympian Bernadette Szocs struggling against Wales’ Anna Hursey. Anna won the first game 11-7 to level the tie at 2-2, but Szocs used her experience and fighting spirit to grab the next two games 11-7, 11-7.So far so good for Goa Challengers.Down 2-4, U Mumba came up with their trump card. The undefeated pair of Manush Shah and Anna Hursey were too hot to handle for Spaniard Alvaro Robles and young Syndrela Das. Robles and Syndrela committed too many unforced errors and lost 0-3 (8-11, 7-11, 9-11).The tie turned into U Mumba’s favour with Alvaro taking on Manush in the men’s reverse singles.Alvaro produced some sensational TT to win five consecutive points to level the tie at 5-5 after the mixed doubles disaster.It could have been anybody’s game had Alvaro kept his cool on Golden Point finish in the second game. However, in an attempt to kill the point, he committed an error.There was no looking back for Manush as he grew in confidence to win the next game at 11-5. Significantly, Manush won five of his six games in the final, which included three in mixed doubles.For Goa, the experienced Alvaro lost five of his six games.Syndrela, who shone earlier in the tournament with a win over Manika Batra, was left to win all three games in the final tie against Anusha Kutumbale to give Goa an unprecedented hat-trick of titles. The youngster did stage a mini comeback, saving two championship points, in the first game. There was pressure at both ends, but Anusha kept it simple and sealed the tie on Golden Point.A Golden Point is when the teams are tied at 10-10. Whoever wins the next point wins the game. Mumba won two such Golden Points. Given their form in the final, nobody could grudge them.
