Sathiyan stuns Aruna but U Mumba TT beat Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6 in UTT

Chennai, Aug 24 (PTI) Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran recorded a sensational come-from-behind win over world No. 20 Quadri Aruna but his efforts went in vain as Delhi Dabang went down 6-9 to U Mumba in the fifth season of Ultimate Table Tennis here on Saturday.

It was Sathiyan’s first win over Aruna but despite his exploits, Delhi couldn’t outmatch Mumba, who rode on Manav Thakkar and Sutirtha Mukherjee’s performance to emerge victories at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Sathiyan found it difficult to get a foothold in his first game of the season and trailed 7-0 right at the start against Aruna, the highest-ranked male player in the tournament.

Aruna took the game easily, but the Indian Olympian bounced back with a sturdy defence and assertive smashes in games 2 and 3, winning by twin 11-9 scorelines to claim the match.

However, Sutirtha wrested back control of the tie for her team U Mumba TT in the first women’s singles match, beating youngster Diya Chitale in three straight games.

Sathiyan then returned to the table for the mixed doubles alongside partner Orawan Paranag but the duo couldn’t surpass the combination of Manav Thakkar and Spaniard Maria Xiao.

Despite their limited interaction so far, Manav and Xiao showed impeccable coordination to claim the match, putting their team on the cusp of a historic win.

Manav then faced off against debutant Andreas Levenko in the tie’s second men’s singles and rapidly raced into a 2-0 lead, heaving U Mumba TT over the line and helping them register their first win over Dabang Delhi.

Paranang later beat Xiao in the second women’s singles to limit the damage for the team from Delhi.

Dabang Delhi are scheduled to play hosts Chennai Lions, while U Mumba TT are set to face Jaipur Patriots on Sunday.