India’s top-ranked men’s singles player Harmeet Desai got Goa Challengers off to a flying start in the final with a 2-1 win over in-form veteran Benedict Duda. World No. 32 Duda, who was unbeaten in the league so far, started the match strongly and showed his prowess with a volley of shots from both sides. He won the first game 11-6 but Harmeet Desai came back brilliantly and won the second game 11-4 to push the match into a decider.
The thrilling third game saw a tough fight between the two players. He was impeccable in his touch and fighting for every point. In the end, Harmeet kept his composure and won the game 11-8 to win the match. After that, however, Yangji Liu, who became the first woman to score more than 200 points in the league this year, continued her unbeaten run and beat Suthasini Sawethabut 2-1 to bring the Chennai franchise back into the tie.
In the third match, which was the mixed doubles, Chennai’s Achanta Sharath Kamal and Yangji beat Harmeet and Suthasini 2-1. With this, Chennai Lions took a 5-4 lead in the match. The Chennai Lions pair displayed excellent chemistry to win the first game 11-7 and went on to win the second game 11-9. Harmeet and Suthasini, however, won the third game through a golden point.
The fourth game saw Chennai’s biggest star Achanta Sharath Kamal face Goa’s Alvaro Robles, which Robles won 3–0 to put Goa ahead. Robles won the first game 11-8 and then continued her fine form to beat Achanta Sharath, a multiple medalist for India at the Commonwealth Games, by the same margin in the second game.
After this, Robles, who had won the silver medal in the World Championship, put Goa in a strong position by winning the third game as well. After the win, Robles celebrated by taking off his shirt. Next it was the turn of the women’s singles match, in which Chennai’s Reeth Tennyson faced Sutirtha Mukherjee of Goa. Mukherjee won the match 2–1 but Reith secured the one point needed to crown his team as champions.
Match Result:
Goa Challengers 4-5 Chennai Lions
- Harmeet Desai 2-1 Benedict Duda (6-11, 11-4, 11-8)
- Suthasini Sawetabut 1-2 Yangzi Liu (11-7, 6-11, 5-11)
- Harmeet/Suthasini 1-2 Sharath/Yangzi (7-11, 9-11, 11-10)
- Álvaro Robles 3-0 Sharath Kamal (11-8, 11-8, 11-10)
- Rhett Tennison 1-2 Sutirtha Mukherjee (7-11, 10-11, 11-6)