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Panaji, Jul 25 (PTI) Captain Manush Shah and Anna Hursey starred as defending champions U Mumba TT booked their place in the summit clash of Ultimate Table Tennis with a commanding 8-3 victory over Kolkata ThunderBlades in the second semi-final here on Saturday.
The pair combined to deliver an unbeaten performance in the mixed doubles, setting up a title clash against unbeaten league leaders Dempo Goa Challengers.
Hursey contested six games across women’s singles and mixed doubles, winning five, while captain Manush remained flawless, winning all five games he played across his two matches.
The final will be a repeat of the tournament opener between Goa and U Mumba.
Kolkata made the brighter start as Romanian international Eduard Ionescu edged Lilian
Bardet in a hard-fought three-game contest. Ionescu claimed the opening two games 11-9 and 11-10 before Bardet pulled one back, handing the ThunderBlades an early 2-1 advantage.
Hursey, however, quickly restored parity for the defending champions with a composed victory over Ayhika Mukherjee. The Welshwoman took the opening two games before Ayhika claimed the third, leaving the tie level at 3-3 heading into the pivotal mixed doubles.
From there, U Mumba seized complete control. Manush and Hursey overwhelmed Ankur Bhattacharjee and Ayhika in straight games for their fifth consecutive win, conceding just 14 points across the final two games to hand their side a decisive 6-3 lead.
Needing only two more games to seal qualification, Manush produced another captain’s performance against Ankur. The Indian international won 11-7 and 11-5 to complete an unbeaten evening, sending the defending champions into a second successive UTT final. PTI ATK PDS
