Harmeet Desai and Liu Yangzi led from the front as Athlead Goa Challengers scripted history by becoming the first team to successfully defend their Ultimate Table Tennis title with an 8-2 win over former champions Dabang Delhi TTC on Saturday.

Both Desai and Liu won their respective singles matches before clinching the mixed doubles match to lay the foundation for the Challengers’ march to their second successive title. Desai was adjudged the Indian player of the tie while Liu was chosen as the foreign player of the tie.

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It was the culmination of a dramatic season for the Goa Challengers. The defending champions had made it to the semi-final line-up by the skin of their teeth as they had to battle hard before somehow finishing the league stage at the fourth spot.

However, they came out firing on all cylinders right from the start on Saturday’s tittle clash, piling on the pressure on Dabang Delhi TTC. Desai handed the early advantage to Athlead Goa Challengers with a 2-1 (6-11, 11-9, 11-6) win over Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the first men’s singles.

Liu extended the lead for the defending champions by blanking Orawan Paranang 3-0 (11-2, 11-10, 11-9) in the first women’s singles. It was sweet revenge for the star from Australia as she avenged her loss to Orawan during the league stage.

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Liu and Desai took Athlead Goa Challengers within sniffing distance of their second successive title, edging out the Dabang Delhi TTC pair of Paranang and Gananasekaran 2-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9) in a hard-fought mixed doubles clash.

With the Goa-based franchise needing to win just one more game to take the title home, Mihai Bobocica completed the formalities by defeating Andreas Levenko in the second men’s singles, which turned out to be the last match of the season.

Liu, who went undefeated throughout the season, also took home the title of Most Valuable female player of the league. Dabang Delhi’s Gnanasekaran was adjudged the MVP among the men.