UTT Season 4: Chennai Lions to take on U Mumba TT for top spot

Both franchises won their opening ties

Defending champions Chennai Lions were at their imperious best in the first tie of the IndianOil UTT Season 4 and will look to continue their winning form as they take on U Mumba TT at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune on Sunday.

The franchise-based league, promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), has been a game-changer for Indian table tennis since its inception in 2017.

Chennai Lions defeated Puneri Paltan Table Tennis by 10-5 team points in their first tie where ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal continuously produced swashbuckling shots to blank his opponent and give his franchise a positive start in the league.

He will remain a key player for the defending champions against U Mumba TT as well, while Sutirtha Mukherjee, Payas Jain and Prapti Sen will take inspiration from the ace Indian shuttler to give their best in the tie.

"Sharath Kamal is our most senior player and the way he played and we performed as a team in the last tie has given us a lot of confidence going into the next tie against U Mumba TT. We are the defending champions and it gives us a lot of confidence when we play against any opponent," commented Sutirtha ahead of the tie.

Yangzi Liu and Benedikt Duda bring international flavour to the franchise and have been in fine form in the IndianOil UTT Season 4, powered by DafaNews, as well.

On the other hand, U Mumba TT also made a fiery start in Season 4 as they registered a come-from-behind victory by 10-5 against Bengaluru Smashers who have stars like Manika Batra in their ranks. Manav Thakkar was on top of his game in the last tie and will pose a big threat to Chennai Lions' title defence with his fighting spirit, while Lily Zhang has also brought her A game to the table in the ongoing Season.

"The team spirit and environment in U Mumba TT are really good. I am super excited to be here and play some really good table tennis. I am looking forward to another enthralling tie," stated Lily Zhang.

World No. 18 Aruna Quadri and Diya Chitale fought bravely in the previous tie despite facing a defeat in the first game of their respective matches. They will be a challenge for Chennai Lions as they possess the right combination of speed and precision to defeat any opponent. Meanwhile, Mouma Das and Sudhanshu Grover are also exciting prospects for U Mumba TT in the upcoming tie of Season 4.

All the UTT Season 4 ties will start at 7.30 PM with broadcast on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema. The tickets will be available on BookMyShow.