PANAJI
HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades snapped U Mumba TT's winning streak with a thrilling 8-7 victory in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 on Tuesday at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium.
Despite the defeat, U Mumba also secured a place in the semifinals, with their superior game count and favourable permutations ensuring qualification alongside Kolkata and league leaders Dempo Goa Challengers.
Youngster Taneesha Kotecha shone for Kolkata by handing Anna Hursey her first defeat of the campaign, while Zeng Jian held her nerve in the deciding game of the final match to clinch the tie. The result confirmed both teams' progression to the knockout stage ahead of the final two league fixtures, leaving only one spot vacant.
Kolkata struck first through Eduard Ionescu, who recovered from a game down to defeat Manush Shah, before Taneesha delivered one of the upsets of the season with a commanding straight-games victory over the previously unbeaten Hursey. U Mumba fought back in the mixed doubles as Manush and Hursey recovered from an early deficit to defeat Ankur Bhattacharjee and Taneesha in three games, keeping the defending champions firmly in the contest.
Frenchman Lilian Bardet then edged Ankur in another hard-fought three-game encounter to bring U Mumba within touching distance before Nithyashree Mani levelled the tie at 7-7 with a composed win over Jian in the opening two games. With everything resting on the final game, Jian responded emphatically, sealing an 11-5 victory to hand Kolkata the tie while ensuring both sides progressed to the semifinals.
Taneesha was named the Indian Player of the Tie, while Bardet claimed both the MatchIQ Player and Foreign Player of the Tie awards. Ankur earned the Shot of the Tie honour.
FINAL SCORE
HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades 8-7 U Mumba TT
Eduard Ionescu bt Manush Shah 2-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-7)
Taneesha Kotecha bt. Anna Hursey 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-4)
Ankur Bhattacharjee/Taneesha Kotecha lost to Manush Shah/Anna Hursey 1-2 (11-8, 4-11, 7-11)
Ankur Bhattacharjee lost to Lilian Bardet 1-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-6)
Zeng Jian lost to Nithyashree Mani 1-2 (10-11, 5-11, 11-5)
