UTT 2019 | Chennai Lions lift title, run 8-1 riot on Dabang Delhi
Chennai Lions had little trouble to overcome the final challenge as Dabang Delhi lost their rhythm on the crucial stage to lose the tie 1-8 and finish as the runner-up. The biggest win for the day was Tiago Apolonia blanking Dabang’s G. Sathiyan to inflict the huge hit and taking the tie away.
Chennai Lions was the deserving winner of the third season of the Ultimate Table Tennis as they dominated the summit clash after nervy semi-final battles. However, Delhi made it all the more easier by keeping their main man not in-form, who lost the all six games that he featured in.
Petrissa Solja opened the floodgates for the Lions as she put Chennai ahead by 2-0 with an easy win over a struggling Bernadette Szocs, who was ranked 10 places higher than her. With an early loss, Delhi sent in their star player against Apolonia, but despite the Indian being the favourite, he was outfoxed by the Portuguese.
“Last night, I said we beat the best team (Goa Challengers) in the semifinals to be here. And that confidence showed in our performance,” pointed out Sharath, who was not required to play his singles, reported the Hindu.
“Dabang is a one-man team and once Tiago produced a beauty to blank Sathiyan, I knew we could finish it with mixed doubles,” Sharath added.
The Lions were leading 5-1 when Sharath and Petrissa had the chance to finish it off against the duo of Sathiyan and Bernadette, who were undefeated. But at a day when they had nothing going for them, it was only natural that they would fluff this one as well and they expectantly lost it in straight games.
Lions won 75 lakhs as the winners’ prize, while Delhi settled for 50 lakhs.
The results (best-of-15-game final):
Chennai Lions bt Dabang Delhi 8-1 (Petrissa Solja bt Bernadette Szocs 11-5, 11-4, 9-11; Tiago Apolonia bt G. Sathiyan 11-6, 11-7, 11-9; Sharath Kamal and Petrissa bt Sathiyan and Bernadette 11-7, 11-2, 11-3).
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