Ultimate Table Tennis: U Mumba edges past Chennai Lions

Aruna Quadri and Lily Zhang put U Mumba TT in charge of the Ultimate Table Tennis season four match against Chennai Lions, but Benedikt Duda's whitewash of Manav Thakkar brought the Lions back in the game. Diya Chitale's outstanding performance sealed the deal for U Mumba, with Aruna's 3-0 mauling of Chennai's A. Sharath Kamal the highlight. Puneri Paltan TT face Goa Challengers in Monday's fixture.

A Mumbai versus Chennai affair in a franchise-based league going down to the wire is nothing new for a sport fan.

The same phenomenon was on display in the Ultimate Table Tennis season four on Sunday night at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City.

Aruna Quadri (World No. 18) and Lily Zhang (World. No 27) – the two highest-ranked paddlers competing in UTT 2023 in men’s and women’s, respectively – put U Mumba TT in charge by opening up a 5-0 lead.

When Lily and Manav Thakkar won the mixed doubles 2-1, U Mumba – leading 7-2 – was on the cusp of a victory.

Benedikt Duda, the Olympic medal winner from Germany, then whitewashed Manav Thakkar to bring Chennai Lions right back in the game.

But Mumbai’s Diya Chitale, the promising Indian paddler, snatched the second game from World No. 32 Yangzi Liu to seal the deal for U Mumba and give its army of supporters a reason to celebrate a famous win.

Chitale’s outstanding performance meant Aruna’s 3-0 mauling of Chennai Lions’ captain cool A. Sharath Kamal did not end up in a losing cause.