Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 12 : Undefeated Sreeja Akula propelled Jaipur Patriots to their first Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) semi-finals, following their 9-6 victory over PBG Pune Jaguars in the penultimate league stage game of Season 6 on Wednesday.
With their win, Jaipur Patriots accrued a total of 41 points and climbed to the second spot in the table, three behind leaders Dempo Goa Challengers.
Meanwhile, PBG Pune Jaguars were put out of the reckoning for the playoffs, with only one berth remaining ahead of tomorrow's final league stage match between U Mumba TT and Dabang Delhi TTC, as per a press release from UTT.
Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, IndianOil UTT continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, will take place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena.
Jeet Chandra kicked things off in thrilling fashion for Jaipur Patriots, blocking out Anirban Ghosh's counter-punching style to secure a 2-1 win. Dutchwoman Britt Eerland followed with a similar flair, taking the first two games before Pune's Reeth Rishya took the third on Golden Point.
These tight wins gave Jaipur a critical buffer heading into the mixed doubles, where Jeet and Eerland responded to an early setback and a 0-1 deficit to take games two and three 11-6, 11-7. Their victory mathematically confirmed Jaipur's spot in the semi-finals, marking their first-ever qualification into UTT's final four.
PBG Pune Jaguars' Alvaro Robles struck back with a composed 2-1 win over Yashansh Malik in the second men's singles, adding urgency to their playoff pursuit. However, Sreeja closed the tie in style and ended Pune's hopes of a semis berth; undefeated through all five league-stage matches, she dominated her clash with South Korea's Zion Lee 2-1, securing Jaipur's 9-6 victory.
For their starring role in Jaipur's victory, Jeet was named the Indian Player of the Tie and Eerland the Foreign Player of the Tie. Zion's round-the-net shot in her singles rubber versus Sreeja earned her the Shot of the Tie honour.
Final Scores
Jaipur Patriots 9-6 PBG Pune Jaguars
Jeet Chandra bt. Anirban Ghosh 2-1 (11-8, 11-9, 10-11)
Britt Eerland bt. Reeth Rishya 2-1 (11-9, 11-6, 10-11)
Jeet Chandra/Britt Eerland bt. Alvaro Robles/Reeth Rishya 2-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-7)
Yashansh Malik lost to Alvaro Robles 1-2 (4-11, 11-6, 3-11)
Sreeja Akula bt. Zion Lee 2-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-8).
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