Kolkata ThunderBlades was buzzing with energy and positivity as AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” announced its arrival at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, ahead of its last league-stage tie against Ahmedabad SG Pipers.
However, the side, which made its Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) debut this season, seemed to be struck by lightning by the end of the night with its semifinal hopes hanging by a thread.
The Pipers beat the baby blue-clad ThunderBlades 8-7, which not only ended the home team’s campaign but perhaps, even its opponent’s.
It wasn’t all so bad from the word go as Ankur Bhattacharjee took a commanding 8-1 lead against Ricardo Walther in the opening singles. But the big-hitting German turned the tide in spectacular fashion, targeting the Indian’s forehand which is still a work in progress.
Walther stole the opening game, converting the Golden Point, before dominating the second 11-5. Bhattacharjee, despite the end of his unbeaten streak, recovered to clinch the third game 11-10 but the youngster hardly celebrated.
A slightly similar pattern followed in the second singles where Adriana Diaz led Ayhika Mukherjee 7-5. The Indian, who plays with the anti-spin rubber on the backhand side and short pips on the forehand, came back to edge the Puerto Rican on Golden Point.
From the ThunderBlades’ perspective, the gravity of the situation could be understood by just looking at Bhattacharjee, sitting on the team bench with his head down.
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World No. 17 Diaz, unlike Bhattacharjee, came back for a 2-1 win over Ayhika. The three-time Olympian dominated the third game with an 11-1 scoreline to lift Bhattacharjee’s and the rest of her team’s spirit.
With the momentum on their side, Diaz and Bhattacharjee clinched their second straight win in mixed doubles to put the ThunderBlades 5-4 ahead.
The biggest shock, however, was yet to come for the ThunderBlades – World No. 25 Quadri Aruna went down 0-3 to Snehit Suravajjula. The Indian played smartly, pushing the Nigerian into his backhand corner, and deservingly grabbed his first-ever UTT match win after six losses since his debut in 2024.
Selena Selvakumar, who came into the final singles tie after being blanked thrice this season, had to inflict a clean sweep on Yashini Sivashankar, a fellow Tamil Nadu player, in order to clinch the tie.
While Selena could only triumph 2-1, her converting two Golden Points after her teammates lost three out of five prior to her match, could be crucial for the team’s survival in UTT Season 6.
The ThunderBlades, placed third with 36 points, need either PBG Pune Jaguars to drop at least eight games against Jaipur Patriots on Thursday or the latter to concede at least 12 to keep their semifinal hopes alive before the final league-stage fixture on Friday between U Mumba and Dabang Delhi TTC, the only unbeaten side this season.
Dabang and defending champion Dempo Goa Challengers have already qualified for the semifinals.
Result
Ahmedabad SG Pipers 8-7 Kolkata ThunderBlades
Ricardo Walther bt. Ankur Bhattacharjee 2-1 (11-10, 11-5, 10-11)
Ayhika Mukherjee lost 1-2 (11-10, 8-11, 1-11) to Adriana Diaz
Ricardo Walther/Ayhika Mukherjee lost 1-2 (10-11, 11-8, 7-11) to Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz
Snehit Suravajjula bt. Quadri Aruna 3-0 (11-10, 11-9, 11-8)
Yashini Sivashankar lost 1-2 (10-11, 11-4, 10-11) to Selena Selvakumar
Standings
1. Dempo Goa Challengers
Ties played – 5, Ties won – 3, Matches won – 16, Points – 44
2. Dabang Delhi TTC
Ties played – 4, Ties won – 4, Matches won – 14, Points – 39
3. Kolkata ThunderBlades
Ties played – 5, Ties won – 2, Matches won – 14, Points – 36
4. Jaipur Patriots
Ties played – 4, Ties won – 3, Matches won – 12, Points – 32
5. U Mumba
Ties played – 4, Ties won – 2, Matches won – 11, Points – 32
6. Ahmedabad SG Pipers
Ties played – 5, Ties won – 2, Matches won – 8, Points – 30
7. Stanley’s Chennai Lions
Ties played – 5, Ties won – 0, Matches won – 7, Points – 29
8. PBG Pune Jaguars
Ties played – 4, Ties won – 2, Matches won – 8, Points – 28