UTT: With a commanding 8-4 victory over the Jaipur Patriots in the Season 6 Grand Finale on Sunday, U Mumba TT made history by winning their first Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) title by an outstanding team effort.
U Mumba had an early lead thanks to victories for Lilian Bardet and Bernadette Szocs, but they were pushed to the limit when Szocs and Akash Pal swept the mixed doubles 3-0. With a decisive victory in the fourth match, teenager Abhinandh PB cemented the title.
Yashaswini Ghorpade did not play in the final, but her impressive performance in the semi-finals summed up U Mumba’s strength as a team this season. It was a campaign that was skillfully run from the dugout by coaches Jay Modak and John Murphy.
Jeet Chandra won Shot of the Final, while Akash and Szocs were named Indian and Foreign Player of the Final, respectively, for their performances in the championship match.
IndianOil UTT is a top professional league that is organized under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and supported by Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj. Over 16 exciting days, all 23 matches were played at Ahmedabad’s EKA Arena.
U Mumba’s tenacious comeback against Kanak Jha in the first rubber set the tone for the team, converting a one-game deficit into a 2-1 victory. This momentum continued into a highly anticipated matchup between Szocs, the league’s top-ranked player, and Sreeja Akula, India’s top-ranked paddler on the international circuit. In a gritty 2-1 victory, Szocs displayed outstanding defense and poise under duress, giving Sreeja her first defeat of the year.
In the mixed doubles, Szocs and Akash made a triumphant comeback, easily defeating Jeet and Britt Eerland in straight games. As each match became more lopsided, the U Mumba team progressed from 5-5 to 11-5 in the second game and ended the third with the same result.
In Match 4, Jeet kept the Jaipur Patriots alive with a calm start, defeating U Mumba’s Abhinandh in the first two games with the tie at stake. But in a difficult third game, the 17-year-old U Mumba paddler remained composed. Locked at 6-6, Abhinandh jumped ahead 10-8 and then sealed the victory 11-8, giving U Mumba TT their first-ever IndianOil UTT title with an 8-4 victory overall.
Harmeet Desai, the captain of the Dempo Goa Challengers, and Bernadette Szocs, the captain of the U Mumba TT, were named the Male and Female MVPs of UTT Season 6 respectively for their outstanding performances. Adriana Diaz was named the IndianOil Shot of the League for her incredible victory over Krittwika Sinha Roy in the Kolkata ThunderBlades’ league stage match against Goa.
Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, co-promoters of IndianOil UTT, were among the dignitaries and notable guests that attended the Grand Finale. ITTF Group CEO Steve Dainton, ITTF Foundation Director Leandro Olvech, TTFI Secretary General Kamlesh Mehta, and Arjuna awardee Monalisa Mehta were also present.
