Thrilling Semifinal Race: Athlead Goa Challengers Secure Narrow Victory

Defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers secured a narrow 8-7 victory over U Mumba TT in the Ultimate Table Tennis league, moving closer to the semifinals. Key performances included Yashaswini Ghorpade's match-sealing win and Maria Xiao's Foreign Player of the Match accolade.

Defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers inched closer to the semifinals with a narrow 8-7 win against U Mumba TT in a closely-contested Ultimate Table Tennis tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Monday.

Athlead Goa Challengers now hold the third spot on the league table with 37 points while U Mumba TT stand fourth with 36 points.

In the first men's singles, Aruna Quadri edged out Harmeet Desai 2-1 (11-7, 4-11, 11-10) in a tight contest, giving U Mumba TT the early advantage. Maria Xiao, later adjudged Foreign Player of the Match, bolstered U Mumba TT's lead with a 2-1 (9-11,11-10, 11-9) win in the first women's singles against Yangzi Liu, who has now lost three matches this season.

Yangzi Liu made amends by joining Harmeet Desai to beat Maria Xiao and Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 10-11, 11-7) in the mixed doubles match, reducing the deficit for Athlead Goa Challengers.

Mihai Bobocica delivered an impressive performance to defeat Manav Thakkar 2-1 (11-6, 11-8, 7-11), allowing Athlead Goa Challengers to draw level at six points each.

Yashaswini Ghorpade, who was awarded Indian Player of the Tie, sealed the win for the defending champions with a 2-1 (11-8, 11-10, 10-11) victory against Sutirtha Mukherjee.

On Tuesday, former champions Chennai Lions will clash with Puneri.

(With inputs from agencies.)