Mumbai: Dempo Goa Challengers continued their remarkable unbeaten run in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7, booking their place in the final with a commanding 8-2 victory over former champions Dabang Delhi TTC in the first semi final on Friday.
Olympian Alvaro Robles delivered a match winning performance, starring in both the men’s singles and mixed doubles to guide Goa to another convincing triumph. The victory takes the league leaders one step closer to completing a historic title winning campaign without suffering a defeat.
Goa made a flying start as Robles comfortably defeated Youssef Abdelaziz in straight games. After dominating the opening two games, the Spaniard staged a spirited comeback from 7-10 down in the third to complete a 3-0 victory and hand his team an early advantage.
Dabang Delhi responded through Maria Xiao, who recovered after dropping the opening game against Bernadette Szocs to win the next two games and reduce the deficit. However, Goa quickly regained control of the contest.
Robles teamed up with youngster Syndrela Das in the mixed doubles, producing another dominant display to defeat Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Maria Xiao in straight games. The convincing win pushed Dempo Goa Challengers to the brink of qualification for the final.
With the decisive match underway, Abhinandh P.B. showed great composure against Delhi captain Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. He edged a closely contested game 11-9 to seal Goa’s place in the championship clash and complete an emphatic team victory.
The Challengers have now extended their unbeaten streak after becoming the first team in Ultimate Table Tennis history to finish the league stage without a defeat. They now stand just one victory away from lifting the Season 7 title and completing one of the most dominant campaigns in the tournament’s history.
