Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 13 : Indian ace Sreeja Akula maintained her unbeaten run, while rising star Yashansh Malik stunned Sathiyan Gnanasekaran as Jaipur Patriots reached the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 Grand Final with a thrilling 8-7 win over Dabang Delhi TTC on Friday.
Yashansh pulled off the biggest upset of the night with a 2-1 win over Delhi skipper Sathiyan, while Sreeja wrapped up the victory with a narrow victory against Diya Chitale in the final game of the tie. Jaipur Patriots will now play the winner of the second semi-final between Dempo Goa Challengers and U Mumba TT in the final on June 15, as per the UTT press release.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, IndianOil UTT continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, are taking place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena.
Jaipur Patriots drew first blood in the semi-final, as Kanak Jha turned the tables on Izaac Quek with a 2-1 win, avenging his opening-day defeat. Quek controlled the early pace to take the first game 11-7, but Jha edged a tense second game on Golden Point with a forehand winner, before powering through the decider.
Delhi quickly drew level through Maria Xiao, who overcame a strong start from the in-form Britt Eerland to win 2-1, before the Delhi duo of Sathiyan and Xiao beat Jeet Chandra and Eerland, extending their perfect mixed doubles run to edge their team ahead on the night.
Yashansh kept Jaipur Patriots in the fight. After saving three game points in the opener to win on Golden Point, the youngster came from behind again in the second game to clinch it 11-9, marking his first win in UTT. Sathiyan responded with an 11-6 win in the third, leaving the tie level at 6-6 heading into the final rubber.
In a high-stakes decider, Sreeja took the opening game 11-9 despite Diya clawing back from 1-5 down. With Dabang Delhi TTC's hopes on the line, Diya responded with a strong 11-6 win in Game 2. The final game was a nail-biter, with both paddlers locked at 8-8 before Sreeja sealed it with a blazing forehand winner, sending Jaipur to their first-ever IndianOil UTT final.
Sreeja was named the Indian Player of the Tie, while Delhi's Xiao and Diya claimed the Foreign Player and Shot of the Tie honours, respectively.
Final Scores
Jaipur Patriots 8-7 Dabang Delhi TTC
Kanak Jha bt. Izaac Quek 2-1 (7-11, 11-10, 11-3)
Britt Eerland lost to Maria Xiao 1-2 (11-6, 6-11, 8-11)
Jeet Chandra/Britt Eerland lost to Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao 1-2 (11-8, 9-11, 10-11)
Yashansh Malik bt. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 2-1 (11-10, 11-9, 6-11)
Sreeja Akula bt. Diya Chitale 2-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-9).