CHENNAI: After a positive start to the tournament, Athlead Goa Challengers lost two successive ties and were in a spot of bother to qualify for the knockouts. But, the defending champions did not lose hope and won four ties on the trot to become the first team to clinch two Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) titles.
Goa were tied on 37 points with Chennai Lions at the end of the group stage but scraped through to knockouts. In the semifinals, they got the better of the tournament favourites Bengaluru Smashers 8-4 and then dominated the proceedings in the final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Saturday, winning 8-2 against Dabang Delhi TTC.