In Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7, Ayhika Mukherjee created a sensation by defeating Sofia Polkanova. With this win, HVR Kolkata Thunderblades defeated Ahmedabad APL Pipers 9-6 and registered their second win.
Panaji (Goa) [भारत]July 17 (ANI): Asian Games medalist Ayhika Mukherjee became the first player to defeat Sofia Polkanova in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7. On Friday, HVR Kolkata Thunderblades recorded their second win of the campaign with a 9-6 win over Ahmedabad APL Pipers. Ayhika’s impressive win over the Austrian star completed another strong all-round performance from Kolkata, who moved further up in the race for the playoffs.
The tie tilted decisively in Kolkata’s favor in the middle matches after Ankur Bhattacharjee and Ayhika produced a spectacular win in the mixed doubles. Eduard Ionescu then won in straight games over Pius Jain, after which Ayhika completed the job in spectacular fashion.
Held under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), the UTT Season 7 features 42 players from across the world, including 14 Olympians. The tournament continues to strengthen the Indian table tennis ecosystem through elite competition and year-round development initiatives.
exciting journey of the match
Ahmedabad took the first lead through Adrian Rosenfosse, who defeated Ankur Bhattacharjee in a dramatic contest. They won the last two games on golden points after losing the first game. Manika Batra doubled the lead by defeating Zeng Jian in another three-game battle. After Gian pushed the match to the final game, Manika won the decider 11-10.
Kolkata responded strongly in the mixed doubles, as Ankur and Ayhika reduced the deficit by dominating Payas and Polkanova in the first two games, before Ionescu leveled the tie with a stunning straight-game win over Payas.
After this Ayhika had to defeat the previously undefeated Polkanova. After losing the first game, the Indian international raised his level brilliantly and won the next two games, including an impressive 11-3 finish. He completed a memorable comeback and secured the tie for the Thunderblades.
Ionescu was awarded both Player of the Tie and Foreign Player of the Tie, while Đika won Indian Player of the Tie honours. Manika won the shot of the tie.
Junior Competition Results
Earlier, in Dream UTT Juniors, Butterfly UTT’s grassroots competition running with Season 7, Dabang Delhi TTC defeated PBG Pune Jaguars 6-3 to book their place in the semi-finals. The result confirmed the lineup of the final four, with Delhi joining UP Prometheans, U Mumba TT and Dempo Goa Challengers in the knockout stage.
Later today, Dabang Delhi TTC will face Dempo Goa Challengers in a rematch of the 2024 final, which is also a clash between the two former winners. All Butterfly UTT Season 7 matches will be live on Star Sports Khel (Hindi), Star Sports Tamil 2 HD and Star Sports Tamil 3 HD, and live streamed in Hindi, Tamil and English on JioHotstar.
final score
HVR Kolkata Thunderblades beat Ahmedabad APL Pipers 9-6
Ankur Bhattacharjee lost to Adrian Rasenfosse 1-2 (11-10, 10-11, 10-11)
Zeng Jian lost to Manika Batra 1-2 (7-11, 11-6, 10-11)
Ankur Bhattacharjee/Aihika Mukherjee defeated Payas Jain/Sofia Polkanova 2-1 (11-9, 11-3, 4-11)
Eduard Ionescu defeated Pius Jain 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-7)
Ayhika Mukherjee defeated Sofia Polkanova 2-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-3). (ANI)
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