5 min readJul 26, 2026 11:36 PM IST
U Mumba TT started the season with heavy defeats to Dempo Goa Challengers (5-10) and Ahmedabad APL Pipers (6-9) and nearly faced three straight losses. Anusha Kutumbale had ensured that did not happen, breaking the streak with a clutch golden point win over Dabang Delhi TTC, then repeated her heroics on Sunday to secure U Mumba’s second consecutive Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) title.
At the receiving end were the same Goan team who were undefeated going into the final. They fell prey to Manush Shah’s all-round brilliance on the second evening running, before Kutumbale finished things off calmly.
Captain Manush had won the singles and mixed doubles rubbers on Saturday to fashion U Mumba’s semi-final triumph over HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades. He did the same in the final, usurping five of six possible points in the matches he played as the defending champions pipped Goa 8-5 in a tantalising tie.
Just like their story in the league phase, U Mumba started the summit clash too with back-to-back defeats. Lilian Bardet and Anna Hursey were on the wrong side of two riveting singles matches, with Abhinandh PB and Bernadette Szocs shining through.
Having blanked Bardet 3-0 in the league phase on the back of inside-out crosscourt forehand drives, Abhinandh came out with a different strategy against him in the final. The 18-year-old chose to attack Bardet’s forehand and body down the middle, and the Frenchman had few answers in Game 1.
The senior pro, called ‘T-Rex’ for his victory celebration style, upped the ante with powerful inside-out forehands of his own early in the second game. But the Chennai lad responded beautifully with a mix of short and long third-ball attacks, winning nine out of 10 points from 1-5 down. It was a sight to behold as Abhinandh remained dauntless amid scoreboard pressure, delighting the partisan crowd with his aesthetically pleasing shots.
Abhinandh later thanked his coaches for helping him build mental composure for times like these. “Many times before I had panicked, but I’ve worked hard on my mental strength in the last one year with my coaches,” he said.
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The match was lost, but Bardet managed to wrest the initiative in the last game to snatch a crucial point for U Mumba.
The second match pitted league veteran Szocs versus the in-form Hursey. The players, bearing similar styles and evenly matched on paper, produced a duel worth the billing.
Hursey, arguably the best women’s singles player on show this season with six wins and one loss amid illness, ran away with Game 1. The better-ranked Szocs (world number 24 as against Hursey’s 34) used all her experience to fight back superbly in the next two games. She repeatedly used her tomahawk serve to induce loose returns, and pounced on them with glee.
The rallies lengthened as the match wore on, but ‘Bernie’ prevailed in more counter punches, and kept letting out roars before clinching it 5-11, 11-7, 11-7. She then explained the rationale behind her vociferous display.
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“This was the only match I was playing in the final; I was not playing the mixed doubles rubber. I had a lot of pressure on me, a lot of emotions. When I won points, I let out some of that emotion. So I screamed like crazy in the latter points.”
But the 20-year-old Hursey soon redeemed herself in the mixed doubles alongside a charged-up Manush. They one-upped Alvaro Robles and Syndrela Das in straight games (11-8, 11-7, 11-9). The match was far closer than the scoreline suggested, and it was Hursey-Manush’s ability to land the top-spin winners in the corners on the vital points that shaped the result.
Manush was only half done. He took on Alvaro Robles in a fourth rubber that proved decisive to the contest.
The battle of the southpaws opened up fresh angles on the table. Manush, like he did the previous night against Ankur Bhattacharjee, moved swiftly in anticipation of returns and kept lining up his forehand. He targeted all parts of the court as per the situation, and was not averse to directing traffic at Robles’ body.
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The Spaniard, though he took Game 1 with an emphatic 11-6 margin, started coming up short when initiating attacks in long rallies. Manush took charge. By snaring the golden point in the second game, he swung the match and the tie’s momentum Mumbai’s way.
By the end of this match, U Mumba needed just one more point. Kutumbale delivered it right away against the rising young Syndrela, just like she had against Delhi to spark their victory juggernaut.
