Ultimate Table Tennis 2023: Table Toppers Dabang Delhi TTC face Goa Challengers in first semi-finals

Goa finishes fourth in the points table by securing 36 points

The IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Season 4 has reached its knockout stage with Dabang Delhi T.T.C going up against Goa Challengers on Friday in the first semi-final at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune.

Dabang Delhi T.T.C had reached the final of Season 3 and will look to repeat their remarkable performance in the ongoing Season 4 as well. The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

The Delhi franchise defeated defending champions Chennai Lions in their last tie to top the table with 42 points and enter the last four of the league. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran defeated Indian great Achanta Sharath Kamal in the previous tie and will look to repeat his performance in the upcoming semi-final as well.

Sathiyan stated, "We won the last tie, which was really crucial and it showed everyone our quality. We will now look to play well in the next tie and hopefully register another win to qualify for the final."

Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Barbora Balazova and Jon Persson will also be eager to continue their fine form for Goa Challengers.

On the other hand, Goa Challengers will look to bounce with some sublime performances after facing a defeat in their last tie against Bengaluru Smashers. They qualified for the semis despite the loss due to their better performances at the start of Season 4.

They will bank on India's highest-ranked men's singles paddler Harmeet Desai, who has been in fine form in the league. T Reeth Rishya and Alvaro Robles will also look to make an impact in the last four.

Reeth said, "We have beaten strong sides like Dabang Delhi TTC and U Mumba TT in the Season 4 which certainly gives us a lot of confidence that we can beat any franchise in the league. All of the players are confident ahead of our upcoming tie."

All the Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Season 4 ties start at 7.30 PM with broadcast on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema. The tickets are available on BookMyShow.

Squads:

Dabang Delhi TTCCoaches: Slobodan Grujic, A. Muralidhara RaoPlayers: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Sreeja Akula, Barbora Balazova, Ayhika Mukherjee, Anirban Ghosh and Jon Persson

Goa ChallengersCoaches: Elena Timina, Parag AgrawalPlayers: Suthasini Sawettabut, Harmeet Desai, Alvaro Robles, T Reeth Rishya, Krittwika Sinha Roy and Anthony Amalraj