Ankur Bhattacharjee starred in Kolkata ThunderBlades’ win over Dempo Goa Challengers in an UTT match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
The overseas duo of Aruna Quadri and Adriana Diaz were at their sublime best to keep Kolkata ThunderBlades’ hopes of making it to the Ultimate Table Tennis semifinal in its debut season alive with a comprehensive win against defending champion Dempo Goa Challengers.
While Quadri and Diaz set the pace early on, promising youngster Ankur Bhattacharjee took over by first gelling well with Diaz in the mixed doubles before overcoming Ronit Bhanja in an entertaining duel to give the ThunderBlades a 9-6 win.
It was a rare instance of two Indian male paddlers featuring in both the men’s singles, since a stomach bug ruled Goa Challengers’ veteran Tiago Apolonia out of the tie. But Bhanja did his bit by snatching a game off Bhattacharjee.
While both the women’s singles ties were one-sided affairs with Indian paddlers from either side barely able to make their respective opponents sweat, Quadri and Challengers’ captain Harmeet Desai stretched each other. Desai matched the Nigerian’s powerful forehands but ran out of steam in the decider after converting one of the two golden points.
The tie of the match was the mixed doubles where Diaz and Bhattacharjee – the expressive duo – surprised Harmeet and Zenj Jian. Bhattacharjee’s banana receives and Diaz’s powerful forehand winners left the Challengers challenged.
The results: Kolkata ThunderBlades bt Dempo Goa Challengers 9-6 (Quadri Aruna bt Harmeet Desai 10-11, 11-10, 11-6; Adriana Diaz bt Krittwika Sinha Roy 11-1, 11-4, 11-6; Diaz & Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Zeng Jian & Desai 11-10, 9-11, 11-7; Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Ronit Bhanja 10-11, 11-10, 11-1; Selenadeepthi Selvakumar lost to Zeng 4-11, 6-11, 4-11).
PBG Pune Jaguars lost to Dabang Delhi TTC 4-11 (Alvaro Robles lost to Quek Izaac 5-11, 4-11, 11-4; Taneesha Kotecha lost to Maria Xiao 5-11, 5-11, 11-9; Reeth Rishya & Robles lost to Maria & G. Sathiyan 10-11, 9-11, 11-4; Anirban Ghosh bt Sathiyan 8-11, 3-11, 11-4; Zion Lee lost to Diya Chitale 5-11, 8-11, 8-11).
The standings: Dabang Delhi TTC 39 points (4 matches) Qualified, Jaipur Patriots 32 (4), Dempo Goa Challengers 32 (4), U Mumba TT 32 (4), Kolkata ThunderBlades 29 (4), PBG Pune Jaguars 28 (4), Stanley’s Chennai Lions 24 (4), Ahmedabad SG Pipers 22 (4).
Monday’s match: Stanley’s Chennai Lions vs Dempo Goa Challengers (7.30 pm).
Published – June 08, 2025 10:31 pm IST
