Dabang Delhi TTC could be facing a setback in the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 final against defending champion Athlead Goa Challengers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
Diya Chitale, one of its important players on the roster, was seen nursing a possible ankle injury before the start of the proceedings and continued to look in discomfort throughout the first men’s singles match between Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai. She sat in her team dugout with her left leg rested, applying an ice pack to her ankle.
Chitale has been a consistent performer for the 2018 champion in this edition of the UTT. Throughout the course of the season, she lost just once and has secured wins in her other five outings, which include three clean sweeps.
Her wins include a crucial 3-0 victory against Reeth Rishya of Ahmedabad SG Pipers in the semifinal, which helped Delhi reach the summit clash. She also came back from behind to beat Manika Batra 3-0 in the league stage, to hand the Bengaluru Smashers its first loss of the season.
Delhi and Goa are in a race to become the first-ever side to be crowned the UTT champion twice and an injury to Chitale could cost her side dearly.
