Sixteen-year-old Syndrela Das stunned Indian star Manika Batra as Dempo Goa Challengers edged Ahmedabad APL Pipers 8-7 to register their second consecutive victory in Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Das, ranked well below World No. 52 Manika, won all three games 11-10, 11-9, 11-9 in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far. Her victory helped the two-time champions establish a commanding early lead that ultimately proved decisive.
Goa’s challenge began with Spain’s Alvaro Robles defeating Adrien Rassenfosse 11-7, 11-8, 11-2 before Das followed with her straight-games victory over Manika to put the defending champions 6-0 ahead.
Ahmedabad fought back through Payas Jain and Sofia Polcanova, who swept the mixed doubles 3-0 against Abhinandh P.B. and Bernadette Szocs. Abhinandh then secured the tie for Goa despite dropping the final game, defeating Payas Jain 2-1 (11-8, 11-10, 5-11).
In the final match, Polcanova defeated reigning UTT MVP Bernadette Szocs in straight games 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, reducing the final margin to 8-7.
Das was named both the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie and Indian Player of the Tie for her victory over Manika. Robles received the Bisleri Shot of the Tie award, while Polcanova was named Foreign Player of the Tie.
Earlier in the day, PBG Pune Jaguars recorded their first win of the season with a 9-6 victory over UP Prometheans.
French Olympian Prithika Pavade recovered after losing the opening game to defeat two-time UTT MVP Yangzi Liu 2-1 (4-11, 11-7, 11-9) in the deciding women’s singles. The result capped an impressive performance for Pune after Ricardo Walther had given UP an early advantage by beating Omar Assar.
Diya Chitale levelled the tie by overcoming Sayali Wani in three games before Snehit SFR and Pavade won the mixed doubles on successive Golden Points. Snehit followed that by defeating Sudhanshu Grover, setting the stage for Pavade’s decisive victory.
Pavade was named Foreign Player of the Tie, while Snehit claimed both the Indian Player of the Tie and ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie awards. Omar Assar received the Bisleri Shot of the Tie honour.
In the Dream UTT Juniors competition, Dabang Delhi TTC defeated Ahmedabad APL Pipers 6-3, while U Mumba TT maintained their unbeaten start with a 5-4 win over HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades.
Dempo Goa Challengers are scheduled to face HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades on Monday.
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