Goa, July 21, 2026: HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades defeated defending champions U Mumba TT 8-7 in a thrilling encounter at the Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 on Tuesday at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Goa. Despite the loss, U Mumba secured their semifinal berth along with Kolkata and league leaders Dempo Goa Challengers.
Kolkata’s young paddler Taneesha Kotecha was the star performer, registering a stunning straight-games win over unbeaten Anna Hursey. She became the first player to defeat Hursey this season and played a key role in Kolkata’s victory.
Eduard Ionescu gave Kolkata an early lead by defeating Manush Shah 2-1 before Taneesha extended the advantage with her impressive 3-0 win. U Mumba bounced back in the mixed doubles as Manush Shah and Anna Hursey defeated Ankur Bhattacharjee and Taneesha Kotecha 2-1.
Lilian Bardet then edged past Ankur Bhattacharjee in a close three-game battle to bring U Mumba closer. Nithyashree Mani levelled the tie at 7-7 after defeating Zeng Jian, setting up a tense final game. However, Zeng held her composure to beat Nithyashree 11-5 in the decider, sealing Kolkata’s victory.
Taneesha was awarded the Indian Player of the Tie, while Bardet won the ChatGPT MatchIQ Player and Foreign Player of the Tie honours. Ankur Bhattacharjee received the Bisleri Shot of the Tie award.
The final semifinal spot remains open, with Dempo Goa Challengers, HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades and U Mumba already through to the knockout stage. All matches are being broadcast on Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
