Ahmedabad, June 3 (IANS) Dabang Delhi TTC will be looking to settle scores when they face reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers in a rematch of last year’s final in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Wednesday. Later, at 7:30 pm, Kolkata ThunderBlades will square up against PBG Pune Jaguars, both sides looking for their second win of the season.
Dabang Delhi head into their blockbuster rematch against Dempo Goa Challengers with momentum on their side. After a dominant opening against Jaipur Patriots, Delhi’s key players look dialled in: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran swept Jeet Chandra and partnered seamlessly with Maria Xiao in mixed doubles while Diya Chitale justified her top billing as the highest-valued Indian player in the auction with an upset win over World No. 42 Britt Eerland. With Izaac Quek, 19, also stunning three-time Olympian Kanak Jha in his debut, Delhi’s top order is firing early.
Their challenge for Delhi now is a Goa squad that opened with authority. Led by Harmeet Desai, who showed composure in his win over Ricardo Walther, the defending champs bring form and depth. Tiago Apolonia and Zeng Jian hit the ground running, and Krittwika Sinha Roy added to their firepower with a strong win over Ayhika. It’s a clash of two balanced line-ups, with early-season supremacy on the line.
In the evening tie, Kolkata ThunderBlades will look to build on a powerful debut led by their star trio – Aruna Quadri, Adriana Diaz, and breakout teen Ankur Bhattacharjee. Ankur’s clinical takedown of Olympian Kirill Gerassimenko reaffirmed his status as one of the sport’s most exciting young talents. Aruna and Diaz, ranked 27 and 17 respectively, played with calm authority, while Selena Selvakumar showed promise despite a tough draw.
PBG Pune Jaguars stand in their way—dangerous and primed to back up the comeback win in their opening match. Olympian Alvaro Robles and debutant Dina Meshref will be keen to bounce back, but the real spark came from Anirban Ghosh and Reeth Rishya, who carried the side in the opener, highlighting the depth of Indian talent on display in the league. Expect both Pune and Kolkata to go all-in for back-to-back wins in this early-season tone-setter.
Squads:
Match 1
Dabang Delhi TTC: Diya Chitale, Maria Xiao (Spain), Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Quek Izaac (Singapore), Suhana Saini, Sourav Saha.
Dempo Goa Challengers: Zeng Jian (Singapore), Harmeet Desai, Tiago Apolonia (Portugal), Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Sayali Wani.
Match 2
PBG Pune Jaguars: Alvaro Robles (Spain), Dina Meshref (Egypt), Taneesha Kotecha, Anirban Ghosh, Reeth Rishya, Mudit Dani.
Kolkata ThunderBlades: Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Selena Selvakumar, Ananya Chande, Deepit Patil.
–IANS
ab/bc
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