Ultimate Table Tennis 2023: Defending champions Chennai Lions meet Goa Challengers in title clash

Chennai Lions also won the inaugural edition of the UTT.

The final of the Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 will see defending champions Chennai Lions go up against Goa Challengers at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune on Sunday.

Chennai Lions defeated Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 8-3 in the second semi-final, while Goa Challengers registered a thrilling 8-7 win in their last tie to reach the Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 final.

Achanta Sharath Kamal will be the key player for Chennai Lions, whereas World No. 33 Benedikt Duda and Yangzi Liu will look to continue their winning performance in the final.

"The semi-final tie was a good one. We will give our best in the final against Goa Challengers as our squad has a lot of quality. We are the defending champions and it gives us a lot of confidence when we play against any opponent in Season 4," commented Duda ahead of the final.

On the other hand, Goa Challengers aim to continue their impressive run in the final as well. They will bank on India's highest-ranked men's singles paddler Harmeet Desai, who has been in fine form in the league. T Reeth Rishya and Alvaro Robles will also look to make an impact in the final tie of Season 4.

Reeth said, "We have beaten strong sides like Dabang Delhi TTC and U Mumba TT in the Season 4 which certainly gives us a lot of confidence that we can beat any franchise in the league. All of the players are confident ahead of the final."

All the Season 4 ties start at 7.30 PM with broadcast on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema. The tickets are available on BookMyShow.

Squads

Chennai Lions

Coaches: Somnath Ghosh, Jorg Bitzigeio

Players: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Yangzi Liu, Benedikt Duda, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Payas Jain and Prapti Sen

Goa Challengers

Coaches: Elena Timina, Parag Agrawal

Players: Suthasini Sawettabut, Harmeet Desai, Alvaro Robles, T Reeth Rishya, Krittwika Sinha Roy and Anthony Amalraj