Achanta Sharath Kamal gave the home crowd something to cheer about by defeating Mihai Bobocica as Athlead Goa Challengers beat Chennai Lions 9-6 in a well-contested IndianOil UTT 2024 tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Sharath Kamal dominated his Italian opponent to clinch a 2-1 (11-6, 11-10, 6-11) verdict, although Bobocica did well to take a valuable point off the veteran Indian star.

The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

Saturday’s result propelled Athlead Goa Challengers to the joint-second spot on the league table with 29 points. Chennai Lions are fourth with 25 points.

Sakura Mori doubled the lead for Chennai Lions with a closely fought win over Yangzi Liu 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 9-11). The Japan star thus maintained her undefeated run this season, while Liu suffered a second consecutive defeat.

Liu, however, had her revenge soon after as she joined Harmeet Desai for the mixed doubles match. The pair produced an impressive performance to outplay the formidable combination of Sharath and Sakura 3-0 (11-9, 11-10, 11-7) as Athlead Goa Challengers charged into the lead.

Desai then bolstered the advantage for Athlead Goa Challengers by claiming his second victory of the tie. The Team India star was at the top of his game as he defeated the in-form Jules Rolland 2-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-5). Yashaswini Ghorpade pulled off a giant-slaying act by defeating the veteran Mouma Das 2-1 (11-5, 11-8, 3-11).

Earlier in the evening, Bernadette Szocs’s victory over Manika Batra in an electrifying women’s singles match turned out to be in a losing cause as PBG Bengaluru Smashers edged out Ahmedabad SG Pipers 9-6. The Romanian star thus avenged her defeat to Manika at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Bengaluru-based outfit is now at the top of the league table with 41 points.

Lilian Bardet gave Ahmedabad SG Pipers a winning start by getting the better of Anthony Amalraj 2-1 (11-9, 11-10, 10-11) in the opening clash. Bernadette then teamed up with Manush Shah to clinch the mixed doubles match 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8) against the PBG Bengaluru Smashers combination of Manika and Alvaro Robles.

Robles brought PBG Bengaluru Smashers back into contention by winning all three games of the men’s singles clash against Shah (11-8, 11-7, 11-8). That saw PBG Bengaluru Smashers claw their way back to equal terms, and Lily Zhang wrapped up a last-gasp victory by blanking Krittwika Sinha Roy 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-10) in the second women’s singles.

Yangzi Liu was adjudged the Foreign Player of the Tie while Harmeet Desai was named the Indian Player of the Tie.

IndianOil UTT 2024 is being broadcast live on Sports18 Khel and streamed online on JioCinema (India) and Facebook Live (outside India). Tickets are available online on BookMyShow and offline at the box office near Gate No. 1 of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

Detailed Scores

Athlead Goa Challengers bt Chennai Lions 9-6:

Mihai Bobocica lost to Achanta Sharath Kamal 1-2 (6-11, 10-11, 11-6)
Yangzi Liu lost to Sakura Mori 1-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-9)
Yangzi Liu/Harmeet Desai bt Sakura Mori/Achanta Sharath Kamal 3-0 (11-9, 11-10, 11-7)
Harmeet Desai bt Jules Rolland 2-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-5)
Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Mouma Das 2-1 (11-5, 11-8, 3-11)

PBG Bengaluru Smashers bt Ahmedabad SG Pipers 9-6:

Anthony Amalraj lost to Lilian Bardet 1-2 (9-11, 10-11, 11-10)
Manika Batra lost to Bernadette Szocs 1-2 (11-7, 9-11, 7-11)
Manika Batra/Alvaro Robles lost to Bernadette Szocs/Manush Shah 1-2 (3-11, 11-7, 8-11)
Alvaro Robles bt Manush Shah 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8)
Lily Zhang bt Krittwika Sinha Roy 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-10)