Published: July 18, 2026 at 11:00 am
Two-time champions Dempo Goa Challengers recorded a commanding 12-3 victory over Dabang Delhi TTC in Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 powered by ChatGPT on Friday, equalling the biggest margin of victory in the five-match format and strengthening their grip at the top of the standings.
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Goa’s victory was built on absolute domination throughout, with Alvaro Robles, Abhinandh PB, Syndrela Das, and Bernadette Szocs all winning their respective singles matches. Robles and Das also combined to hand Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Maria Xiao their second successive Mixed Doubles defeat.
Kolkata, meanwhile, recovered from an early deficit through a decisive mixed doubles win, a clinical Eduard Ionescu performance and Ayhika’s landmark comeback against Polcanova.
Dempo Goa Challengers’ Alvaro Robles in action during the tie against Dabang Delhi. Pics: Butterly UTT
Unbeaten ahead of the tie, Goa set the tone immediately as Robles swept aside Sathiyan in straight games before Syndrela edged fellow teenager Divyanshi Bhowmick in a high-quality contest between two of the league’s and the country’s brightest young prospects. Robles and Syndrela then combined superbly in the mixed doubles, overpowering the normally formidable pairing of Sathiyan and Xiao across the opening two games to stretch Goa’s advantage.
Abhinandh continued his remarkable unbeaten run with another commanding straight-games victory, this time over Youssef Abdelaziz, before reigning MVP Bernadette completed the rout by defeating Xiao. Abhinandh picked up the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie, the Indian Player of the Tie, and the Bisleri Shot of the Tie awards, while Robles was named the Foreign Player of the Tie.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Butterfly UTT Season 7 features 42 players from around the world, including 14 Olympians, while continuing to strengthen the Indian table tennis ecosystem through elite competition and year-round development initiatives.
Result: Dempo Goa Challengers beat Dabang Delhi TTC 12-3
Alvaro Robles beat Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9); Syndrela Das beat Divyanshi Bhowmick 2-1 (11-9, 10-11, 11-4); Alvaro Robles/Syndrela Das beat Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao 2-1 (11-8, 11-5, 9-11); Abhinandh PB beat Youssef Abdelaziz 3-0 (11-4, 11-10, 11-8); Bernadette Szocs beat. Maria Xiao 2-1 (11-5, 11-10, 10-11).
