Ahmedabad SG Pipers' Manush Shah and Bernadette Szocs in action© UTT
Both U Mumba TT and Ahmedabad SG Pipers will be aiming to grab their second win of Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 when they meet at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. The two teams have recorded mirrored results from their opening two games, respectively. While U Mumba TT won their first tie 9-6 against Dabang Delhi TTC, they lost their second against Jaipur Patriots by the same margin. Similarly, Ahmedabad SG Pipers, who faced a 10-5 loss against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis on their UTT debut, beat reigning champions Athlead Goa Challengers by the exact score in the following tie.
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.
Leading the team from Mumbai is Indian ace Manav Thakkar, who showed his class in a spirited fightback in the loss to Jaipur Patriots. Manav could potentially square up against Ahmedabad SG Pipers' captain Manush Shah, setting up a mouth-watering bout for table tennis enthusiasts all over the country.
Ahmedabad SG Pipers' win over Athlead Goa Challengers yielded the maiden triumphs of UTT 2024 for their foreign stars Bernadette Szocs and Lilian Bardet. U Mumba TT will hope their upcoming clash does the same for their duo Quadri Aruna and Maria Xiao, who, despite claiming games in their favour and displaying their prowess, are yet to win a match.
Finally, the tie between the teams from Mumbai and Ahmedabad could potentially slot Sutirtha Mukherjee (U Mumba TT) against Reeth Rishya (Ahmedabad SG Pipers) in one of the women's singles matches, setting up a rematch for the deciding clash from the previous season's final. On that occasion, Sutirtha won the match, but Reeth claimed a solitary game, helping her former team, Athlead Goa Challengers, over the line in an 8-7 victory.