A name change seemed to bring a change in fortune for the Pune franchise in the Ultimate Table Tennis league. Playing as PBG Pune Jaguars this season, they defeated U Mumba for the very first time in the Maharashtra derby, winning 9-6 at the EKA Arena in front of around 200 fans.
Previously known as Puneri Paltan, the team had lost to U Mumba in seasons 3 and 4. But this time, they bounced back from an early deficit to claim a memorable victory.
French player Lilian Bardet got Pune off to a flying start, dominating the first two games against Spain’s Alvaro Robles and losing just five points in total. But with every game counting in the UTT format, Robles fought back from 1-4 down to win the third game 11-8.
In the women’s singles, World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs found herself in deep trouble against Egyptian debutant Dina Meshref. The left-hander gave Szocs a hard time with her sharp inside-out forehands and even held three match points in the second game. But Szocs, who recently made history as the first Romanian woman in over three decades to win a World Championship medal, showed grit and turned the match around.
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