Heavyweights will collide when former winners Dabang Delhi TTC take on U Mumba TT in the teams’ first tie of the IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Saturday, another double-header day, will also witness defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers play debutants Ahmedabad SG Pipers in the pair’s respective second tie of the fifth season.

The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). All league matches will air on Sports18 Khel on TV and stream live on JioCinema in India and Facebook Live outside India. Tickets are available online through BookMyShow and offline at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Led respectively by Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manav Thakkar, Dabang Delhi TTC and U Mumba TT will feature a clash between two of India’s finest paddlers, with both currently placed inside the Top 100 in World Rankings (Men’s Singles). The tie will also allow the fans to watch IndianOil UTT 2024’s highest-ranked male paddler, Quadri Aruna (20), in action for U Mumba.

Dabang Delhi TTC are approaching the fifth season of India’s premier table tennis league with a fresh perspective; besides Sathiyan, the former winners feature an entirely new cast, filled with debutants and youngsters. U Mumba TT, on the other hand, have gone for continuity, bringing back Manav, Aruna, and Indian coach Anshul Garg.

Athlead Goa Challengers will aim to transform their win on the opening day of IndianOil UTT 2024 into a streak when they face debutants Ahmedabad SG Pipers in Saturday’s second tie. The reigning champions beat the other new team this season, Jaipur Patriots, 9-6, to start their title defense positively. Their next opponents, Ahmedabad SG Pipers, would also have played their first match by the time the pair meet.

The tie between the two teams will pit Harmeet Desai against Manush Shah and Yangzi Liu against Bernadette Szocs. Szocs, the highest-ranked female paddler in IndianOil UTT 2024, will particularly relish her potential clash against the Australian Liu, who hasn’t lost a match since the start of the previous season.

The first tie of the day will take place at 17:00 local time, while the second is scheduled to begin at 19:30.

Squads:

Dabang Delhi TTC vs U Mumba TT

Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan G, Orawan Paranang (Thailand), Diya Chitale, Andreas Levenko (Austria), Yashansh Malik, Lakshita Narang

U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (Spain)

Athlead Goa Challengers vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

Athlead Goa Challengers: Harmeet Desai, Yangzi Liu (Australia), Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sudhanshu Grover, Sayali Wani, Mihai Bobocica (Italy)

Ahmedabad SG Pipers: Manush Shah, Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Lilian Bardet (France), Reeth Tennison, Pritha Vartikar, Jash Modi