Dabang Delhi pulled off a remarkable 8-7 win over HVR Kolkata Thunderblades in an Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7 clash at the Shyama Prasad Indoor Stadium in Panaji, Goa on Saturday, overcoming a sensational performance from 19-year-old Ankur Bhattacharjee to register its second successive victory.
Fresh from beating UP Prometheans the other day, Delhi looked set for another comfortable win before Ankur produced the standout performance of the evening. The teenager dismantled the vastly experienced G. Sathiyan in straight games in the fourth match, unleashing fearless attacking strokes from all parts of the table. In his exuberance after sealing the win, Ankur climbed onto the table in celebration, earning a yellow card from the umpire.
Earlier, the teams had shared the honours in the opening two singles, while Delhi gained the upper hand by winning the third match—mixed doubles—with Sathiyan and Maria Xiao maintaining an unbeaten run from the previous season. And Ankur’s dominating (3-0) victory helped Kolkata narrow the lead.
The tie eventually hinged on women’s singles, with Delhi trailing 5-7. Kolkata needed just one game from Ayhika Mukherjee to clinch the contest, but Sutirtha Mukherjee had other ideas. Taking on her childhood friend and doubles partner, Sutirtha delivered a superb all-round attacking display, nullifying the spin variations of Ayhika who uses a long-pimpled rubber, to sweep all three games and snatch victory for the former champion.
In the second tie of the day, Austrian left-hander Sofia Polcanova did the star-turn in debutant Ahmedabad APL Pipers’ 9-6 win over defending champion U Mumba TT. The 31-year-old combined with Payas Jain to win the mixed doubles match and then clinched the tie in the fifth and deciding singles fixture against Anusha Kutumbale.
Comments
Published on Jul 11, 2026