Falcons TTC became the first team to lift the Ultimate Table Tennis title courtesy of a resounding 14-8 win against Shaze Challengers at Mumbai on Sunday. Despite Shaze Challengers getting off to a strong start, Falcons took control and seldom relinquished their advantage.

The Challengers made a strong comeback to close down the deficit, winning four matches in a row at one stage. It was Falcons’ skipper, Par Gerell who sealed the game, winning his encounter against Chinese Li Ping.

Li Ping put Shaze Challengers ahead with a 2-1 win over Sanil Shetty in the men’s singles, the opening match of the tie. However, in-form Wu Yang swept aside Mouma Das (Shaze Challengers) 3-0 in the women’s singles to hand the lead to Falcons TTC 4-2, reported PTI.

Next up was mixed doubles and Falcons TTC’s pair of Sanil Shetty and Lee Ho Ching brushed aside Soumyajit Ghosh and Petrissa Solja 3-0 to extend their team’s lead to 7-2. Croatian Andrej Gacina of Shaze Challengers beat Pitchford 2-1 in the men’s singles. Falcons TTC led 8-4 at this stage. Wu Yang of the Challengers and Han Ying played out a thrilling encounter, which saw the Chinese emerge victorious and saw her side edge closer to the title. With the score at 12-5, the writing was on the wall for Challengers.