Broadcast on the Star Sports network and streamed on JioHotstar, the tie will take place at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium

Goa, July 13, 2025: Two of the early frontrunners in Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 Powered by ChatGPT square off on Monday as defending champions Dempo Goa Challengers take on HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades in a blockbuster Matchday 5 clash at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium.

Goa will look to build on their commanding opening-night victory over reigning champions U Mumba TT, while Kolkata aim to bounce back after suffering a narrow 8-7 defeat to Dabang Delhi TTC–having won their opening tie by the reverse margin against PBG Pune Jaguars.

Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Butterfly UTT continues to strengthen Indian table tennis through elite competition and year-round development initiatives. Season 7 brings together 42 players from across the globe, including 14 Olympians, alongside the parallel Dream UTT Juniors competition that continues to expand the league's grassroots pathway.

Goa have looked every bit the two-time champions so far. Reigning MVP Bernadette Szocs opened the campaign with victories in both women's singles and mixed doubles, while teenage sensation Abhinandh PB emerged as one of the early stars of the season, sweeping the ChatGPT Match IQ Player of the Tie, Indian Player of the Tie and Bisleri Shot of the Tie awards after a flawless display against U Mumba TT. With Olympian Alvaro Robles adding further experience and depth, the hosts will look to maintain their early momentum.

Kolkata, meanwhile, have shown they possess the quality to trouble any side in the competition. After edging PBG Pune Jaguars in a last-match decider, they fell narrowly to Dabang Delhi despite Ankur Bhattacharjee producing one of the performances of the season with a stunning straight-games victory over Sathiyan Gnanasekaran.

Alongside Foreign Player of the Tie Zeng Jian, experienced campaigner Eduard Ionescu and Indian internationals Ayhika Mukherjee and Jeet Chandra, Kolkata have the firepower needed to thwart the Goa juggernaut.

A potential showdown between Abhinandh and Ankur would pit two of the breakout Indian stars of the opening week against each other, while Szocs and Zeng Jian could produce one of the highest-quality women's singles contests of the season. Another intriguing battle could see European stalwarts Robles and Eduard Ionescu face off, with Kolkata's knack for pushing ties to the wire ensuring another closely fought evening.

Butterfly UTT Season 7 Schedule

July 13, 2026 | 19:30 | Dempo Goa Challengers vs HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades

Butterfly UTT Season 7 Teams

Dempo Goa Challengers: Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Alvaro Robles (Spain), Abhinandh PB, Divyansh Srivastava, Syndrela Das, Ananya Chande

HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu (Romania), Zeng Jian (Singapore), Taneesha Kotecha, Jeet Chandra