Ultimate Table Tennis commences today

With six clubs in the fray to bag the top honours, the opening day will see Falcons TTC lock horns with RP-SG Mavericks in what promises to be a nail-biting face-off. 

While the Falcons TTC boasts of World No.11 among women Wu Yang in their line-up apart from Indian trail blazers in Sanil Shetty, Arjun Ghosh, Priyadarshini Das, Sutirtha Mukherjee and foreign recruits Ho Ching Lee, Par Gerell and Liam Pitchford, team RP-SG Mavericks will be heavily backed by Chennai audience as it features home-grown hero Sharath Kamal Achanta. 

The team under the tutelage of Sachin Shetty and German Peter Engel features Birdie Boro, Archana Kamath and Amruthapushpak Shekhar as part of Indian contingent while Tiago Apolonia, Stefan Fegerl, Sabine Winter and Sofia Polcanova form their foreign drafts. 

Both teams are equally poised in terms of experience and youth but what will set them apart is their planning and strategizing to use different combinations that be will prove vital in determining the winner of the inaugural match. 

“The team has gelled well over the past few days and we are eager to start the league. Personally, I am very excited as I have not played in front of my home crowd for more than a decade. The format is quite fast-paced and interesting and we obviously look forward to start on a winning note,” Sharath said. The format is short and exciting where each team will play nine matches in a tie with each match comprising three Games.

Consequently, each tie shall comprise 27 Games. Each game shall have players competing to score 11 points first, meaning if scores are level at 10-all then the 11th point will be a ‘Golden Point’ and shall decide the winner. Falcons TTC’s Sanil Shetty said the lead up to the league has been a very enriching experience.

“Most of us have got to interact with our idols in the sport and even play a couple of practice matches here in Chennai. We are all set for the first match and I can assure you it will be top class entertainment and action,” he added.