Sutirtha seals dramatic Dabang Delhi victory over Kolkata after Ankur stuns Sathiyan

Asian Games medalist Sutirtha Mukherjee produced a clutch performance under pressure as former champions Dabang Delhi TTC snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Dabang Delhi overcome HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades 8-7 in a dramatic Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 clash at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa on Saturday.

Delhi looked set for defeat after Ankur Bhattacharjee stunned veteran Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 3-0 in a marquee men’s singles battle, but Sutirtha held her nerve to defeat close friend and international doubles partner Ayhika Mukherjee in the deciding match and preserve her side’s unbeaten start.

Ankur Bhattacharjee of Kolkata ThunderBlades in action against Dabang Delhi at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa on Saturday. Pics: Butterfly UTT

The tie opened with consecutive all-foreign singles contests. Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz recovered from dropping the first game to beat Romania’s Eduard Ionescu 2-1, winning six straight points in the decider to hand Delhi the early advantage. Kolkata responded immediately as Singapore’s Zeng Jian overcame Spain’s Maria Xiao 2-1 in a high-quality women’s singles match, edging a thrilling final game 11-9 to level the tie at 3-3.

Delhi nose ahead again

Delhi nosed ahead again in the mixed doubles through Sathiyan and Xiao, the Delhi pair pulling away 11-5 in the decider to restore their side’s one-game advantage heading into the final two matches.

Youssef Abdelaziz of Dabang Delhi in action against Kolkata ThunderBlades 

The night’s marquee contest saw veteran Sathiyan take on rising Indian star Ankur in a battle between experience and youth. Ankur recovered from 3-9 down in the opening game, winning seven of the final eight points, including the Golden Point, to seize the advantage. Roared on by the crowd, he then dominated the second game 11-6 and, despite Sathiyan forcing yet another Golden Point in the third, held his nerve once more to complete a memorable straight-games victory that put Kolkata within one game of the tie.

Sutirtha salvages win for Delhi

With Delhi staring at defeat, Sutirtha produced one of the performances of the season against her long-time doubles partner Ayhika. After recovering from an early deficit to take the first game 11-6, Sutirtha raced through the second 11-2 to force a tie-decider. She maintained her composure in the third, closing out an 11-7 victory to complete a stirring comeback and seal the tie for Delhi.

Maria Xiao and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran of Dabang Delhi during their doubles match

For her match-winning display, Sutirtha Mukherjee was named the Indian Player of the Tie, while Ankur Bhattacharjee claimed the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie and the Bisleri Shot of the Tie awards. Zeng Jian was adjudged the Foreign Player of the Tie.

Dempo Goa bounce back

Earlier in the day, in the Dream UTT Juniors, Butterfly UTT’s grassroots competition running alongside Season 7, U Mumba TT maintained their perfect start with a convincing 7-2 victory over PBG Pune Jaguars, while Dempo Goa Challengers bounced back to edge UP Prometheans 5-4, handing the latter their first defeat of the campaign.

Later in the day, reigning champions U Mumba TT will look to return to winning ways against Ahmedabad APL Pipers.

Zeng Jian of Kolkata ThunderBlades in action against Maria Xiao of Delhi Dabang

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.

Maria Xiao’s sparkling paddle work helps Dabang Delhi edge UP Prometheans 9-6 

All Butterfly UTT Season 7 matches will be live on Star Sports Khel (Hindi), Star Sports Tamil 2 HD, and Star Sports Tamil 3 HD, and streamed live on JioHotstar (Hindi, Tamil, and English).

Result: Dabang Delhi TTC beat HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades 8-7

Youssef Abdelaziz beat Eduard Ionescu 2-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-4); Maria Xiao lost to Zeng Jian 1-2 (3-11, 11-8, 9-11); Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao beat Ankur Bhattacharjee/Zeng Jian 2-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-5); Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 0-3 (10-11, 6-11, 10-11); Sutirtha Mukherjee beat Ayhika Mukherjee 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-7).