Defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers will look for the final push to stay in the race for the playoffs of the IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 when they lock horns with U Mumba TT in their last league encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.

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 streaming live on JioCinema in India and Facebook Live outside India. Tickets are available online through BookMyShow and offline at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium box office near Gate No. 1.

For both teams stuck in the mid-table logjam with 29 points each, Monday’s face-off will serve as the final showdown to keep themselves in the hunt as the race for the playoffs heats up with at least two more teams also in the fray for the top four. A win for either side will give them the cushion for a potential reckoning in the playoffs pecking order.

U Mumba TT is slightly ahead at No. 4 in the leaderboard, given that they have won 11 matches in contrast to No. 5 ranked Athlead Goa Challengers, after winning 8 matches. Both sides boast a star-studded lineup that spices up the contest even more. Having completed a 9-6 win over Chennai Lions in their previous encounter, the Goa-based side will be hoping for another stellar finish, although it won’t be an easy task against U Mumba TT, who will be back in action after clinching a nervy 8-7 victory against Chennai Lions in their previous tie.

While the Mumbai-based outfit will pin their hopes on the likes of world No. 20 Quadri Aruna from Nigeria, and Indian stars Manav Thakkar and Sutirtha Mukherjee, Athlead Goa Challengers have a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Harmeet Desai and the experienced Australian Yangzi Liu in their ranks.

Squads:

U Mumba TT vs Athlead Goa Challengers
U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (Spain)
Athlead Goa Challengers: Harmeet Desai, Yangzi Liu (Australia), Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sudhanshu Grover, Sayali Wani, Mihai Bobocica (Italy)