U Mumba TT will look to strengthen their playoff hopes against the eighth-placed Chennai Lions when the teams meet for their IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 tie at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Friday’s action will see the return of doubleheaders, with Dabang Delhi T.T.C’s bout against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis following the earlier clash.

The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). All the thrilling ties are being aired on Sports18 Khel on TV and streamed live on JioCinema in India and Facebook Live outside of India. Tickets are available online through BookMyShow and offline at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium box office near Gate no. 1.

Despite winning one of their three ties, U Mumba TT sits 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 in eighth place with 12 points, having played a Tie lesser. Meanwhile, both Dabang Delhi T.T.C 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 promises plenty of potential mouth-watering clashes, 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 T.T.C’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 T.T.C’s Orawan Paranang, who recently became the only player to defeat Yangzi Liu in IndianOil UTT history.

The tie between U Mumba TT and Chennai Lions will occur at 17:00. Meanwhile, Dabang Delhi T.T.C’s clash with Puneri Paltan Table Tennis will commence after 19:30.

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 T.T.C vs Puneri Paltan Table Tennis

Dabang Delhi T.T.C: 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