Ultimate Table Tennis: Defending Champions Dabang Delhi Open Season 3 Against Newbies Puneri Paltan
Ultimate Table Tennis 2019: Dabang Delhi are being led by India's highest ranked player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran while Puneri Paltan have Harmeet Desai in their ranks.
Dabang Delhi TTC come into Ultimate Table Tennis season 3 as defending champions. (Photo Credit: UTT)
New Delhi: Top Indian and international paddlers will be under the spotlight as the third edition of Ultimate Table Tennis in New Delhi begins on July 25.
Defending champions Dabang Delhi TTC, led by currently the highest-ranked Indian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (No.24), take on newcomers Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in the opening clash of the tournament.
Dabang come into the season with a strong contingent that boasts of the likes of Romanian Bernadette Szocs (No.19), Jon Persson of Sweden (No.72) and rising Indian paddler Parth Virmani.
However, Puneri Paltan will be no pushovers either. Spearheaded by Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei (No.28), they have in their ranks German veteran Sabine Winter (No.62) and India's top paddlers in Ayhika Mukherjee and Harmeet Desai. They will surely aim to spring a surprise or two.
More high-voltage action will be on the cards on day two when new entrants Chennai Lions take on fellow newbies U Mumba TT. The Lions possess India's most experienced player in 37-year-old Achanta Sharath Kamal (No.32) and German star Petrissa Solja (No.26) while U Mumba have the likes of Doo Hoi Kem (No.12) of Hong Kong and the talented Manav Thakkar of India (U-21 No.2) in their arsenal.
2018 Commonwealth Games double-gold medalist Manika Batra (No.56) will step up to the table on the third day for her team RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata, that also includes UTT debutant Benedikt Duda of Germany (No.53), Matilda Ekholm of Sweden (No.25) and Sanil Shetty.
They take on the rechristened Goa Challengers (formerly Empowerji Challengers) comprising the league's top-ranked player Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei (No.8), India's Amalraj Anthony and Spaniard Alvaro Robles (No.56).
The six-team city-based affair will see a total of 36 players in action, including 11 Olympians, 2 Youth Olympians and a total of 25 national champions across all the senior categories, fighting it out for the UTT trophy.