U Mumba TT didn’t have a lot time to recuperate after a thriller of a semifinal on Saturday night time.
The draw ended up being extraordinarily difficult towards it. Still, U Mumba overcame all the challenges to put its fingers on the coveted Ultimate Table Tennis trophy for the first time by sharpening Jaipur Patriots off 8-4 in the summit conflict on Sunday.
Riding on an all-round efficiency — with captain Bernadette Szocs main from the front — U Mumba managed the final ever since Lilian Bardet bounced again after conceding the opening sport to Patriots’ captain Kanak Jha. The convincing win meant U Mumba was richer by ₹60 lakh, with Patriots getting ₹40 lakh for the runners-up spot.
Bernadette Szocs with the trophy.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
The semifinalists — Dempo Goa Challengers and Dabang Delhi TT — every acquired a cheque price ₹17.50 lakh.
Despite Jha being an awesome favorite to place Patriots in cost, Bardet gained management and his audacious winners pressured the former into errors.
Once he put U Mumba in lead, Szocs doubled the benefit by avenging her league stage loss to Sreeja Akula, the solely unbeaten participant in the event.
Besides her heavy forehand topspins, it was world No. 12 Szocs’ skill to dam Sreeja’s highly effective forehand winners that turned out to be the distinction.
At 4-2, Szocs remained in the area with Akash Pal — India’s greatest doubles participant — becoming a member of her.
The duo eased previous Jeet Chandra and Britt Eerland with a clear slate.
The spotlight was Pal’s side-spins from the again of the court docket and distinctive down-the-line winners he produced. It put U Mumba on the cusp of a triumph, main 7-2. All that was required of P.B. Abhinandh or Yashaswini Ghorpade was to grab a sport off their senior opponents.
Calculated dangers
While Jeet’s calculated dangers paved off in the first two video games, Abhinandh — who wasted a 6-2 lead in the second — was distinctive along with his serves in the third to shut out the sport and with it the tie.
It meant Yashaswini, the star of Saturday’s nice escape towards Goa Challengers, entered the area solely to affix in the celebrations.
The consequence: U Mumba TT bt Jaipur Patriots 8-4 (Lilian Bardet bt Kanak Jha 4-11, 11-5, 11-7; Bernadette Szocs bt Sreeja Akula 11-9, 10-11, 11-5; Szocs & Akash Pal bt Britt Eerland & Jeet Chandra 11-6, 11-5, 11-5; P.B. Abhinandh misplaced to Jeet Chandra 5-11, 8-11, 11-8).
Published – June 15, 2025 11:00 pm IST
