Dempo Goa Challengers edge PBG Pune Jaguars to stay unbeaten

Bernadette Szocs and Syndrela Das guided Dempo Goa Challengers to a thrilling 8-7 victory over PBG Pune Jaguars in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7. The win extended Goa's unbeaten run, while U Mumba TT clinched the Dream UTT Juniors title

Hyderabad: Romanian ace Bernadette Szocs and Indian teenage sensation Syndrela Das starred as Dempo Goa Challengers extended their unbeaten run in Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 Powered by ChatGPT, edging PBG Pune Jaguars 8-7 in a dramatic contest in Goa on Sunday.

While Szocs delivered a flawless three-game victory to swing the momentum in Goa’s favour, Syndrela held her nerve in the deciding match to seal the tie and keep the league leaders unbeaten this season.

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The Challengers had to dig deep after Pune twice fought back through Omar Assar and Snehit Suravajjula, who handed Abhinandh PB and Alvaro Robles rare defeats. But with the tie hanging in the balance, Syndrela produced a composed display in the decider against Diya Chitale to ensure Goa remained unbeaten heading into the closing stages of the league phase.

Goa’s afternoon began with a setback as Omar Assar rallied from a game down to hand Abhinandh PB his first singles defeat of the season. Szocs immediately turned the tie around, producing a dominant straight-games victory over Prithika Pavade before Pune reduced the deficit through Anirban Ghosh and Diya Chitale in the mixed doubles. Snehit Suravajjula then recovered from an early setback to edge Robles in three games, leaving Goa needing a result in the final match.

Syndrela delivered under pressure. The teenager claimed the opening game before Diya forced a decider, but Syndrela responded with a composed 11-8 victory to clinch both the match and the tie, preserving Goa’s unbeaten record.

Assar was named the ChatGPT Match IQ Player, Syndrela the Indian Player of the Tie, and Szocs the Foreign Player of the Tie. Anirban claimed the Bisleri Shot of the Tie award for his stunning winner in the mixed doubles.

Earlier, U Mumba TT were crowned Dream UTT Juniors champions after defeating Dabang Delhi TTC 5-2 in the final. Somdev Sengupta laid the foundation with a victory in the boys’ singles before partnering Ahona Ray to win the mixed doubles. Ahona then sealed U Mumba’s maiden Dream UTT Juniors title with victory in the girls’ singles.

The results: Dempo Goa Challengers bt PBG Pune Jaguars 8-7 (P B Abhinandh lost to Omar Assar 11-10, 5-11, 8-11; Bernadette Szocs bt Prithika Pavade 11-6, 11-9, 11-5; Alvaro Robles/Syndrela Das lost to Anirban Ghosh/Diya Chitale 10-11, 11-4, 6-11; Alvaro Robles lost to Snehit Suravajjula 11-2, 8-11, 10-11; Syndrela Das bt Diya Chitale 11-7, 7-11, 11-8).