U Mumba TT will look to strengthen their playoff hopes against eighth-placed Chennai Lions when the teams meet for their Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Friday’s action will see the return of double headers, with Dabang Delhi TTC’s bout against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis following up the earlier clash.
Despite winning only one of their three ties, U Mumba TT sit third in the table, courtesy of their individual game wins. The team from Mumbai has accumulated 21 points, winning seven matches of their 15 so far. Chennai Lions, on the other hand, are eighth with 12 points, having played a game fewer.
Meanwhile, both Dabang Delhi TTC and Puneri Paltan Table Tennis are on the peripheries of the playoff spots, having won a match each.
The battle between U Mumba TT and Chennai Lions has plenty of potential mouth-watering clashes on offer, not least a likely bout between Manav Thakkar, one of Indian table tennis’ rising stars, and Achanta Sharath Kamal, a sporting great.
Later on, Dabang Delhi TTC’s tie against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis will see the return of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to the table in a potential match-up against teenage sensation Ankur Bhattacharjee.
The clash could also see Puneri Paltan Table Tennis’ giant slayer Ayhika Mukherjee square up against Dabang Delhi TTC’s Orawan Paranang, who recently became the only player to defeat Yangzi Liu in UTT history.
Squads
Chennai Lions vs U Mumba TT
Chennai Lions: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sakura Mori (Japan), Jules Rolland (France), Poymantee Baisya, Mouma Das, Abhinandh PB; U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (Spain)
Dabang Delhi TTC vs Puneri Paltan Table Tennis
Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan G, Orawan Paranang (Thailand), Diya Chitale, Andreas Levenko (Austria), Yashansh Malik, Lakshita Narang; Puneri Paltan Table Tennis: Ayhika Mukherjee, Natalia Bajor (Poland), Joao Monteiro (Portugal), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Yashini Sivashankar