While both Falcons TTC and Mavericks are equally poised with experience and youth in their ranks, RP-SG Mavericks will findAlocal support, thanks to home-grown hero Sharath Kamal.
The anticipation to witness Indiaas first ever professional table tennis league ends asAthe inaugural edition of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis is ready to roll on Thursday, July 13, at the Nehru Indoor StadiumAin Chennai. The opening day will be graced by the Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, Indiaas chess maestro,Awho will be present to watch the 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 trailAblazers in Sanil Shetty, Arjun Ghosh, Priyadarshini Das, Sutirtha Mukherjee and foreign recruits Ho Ching Lee,APar Gerell and Liam Pitchford, team RP-SG Mavericks will be heavily backed by Chennai audience as it featuresAhome-grown hero Sharath Kamal Achanta.
The team under the tutelage of Sachin Shetty and German PeterAEngel features Birdie Boro, Archana Kamath and Amruthapushpak Shekhar as part of Indian contingent whileATiago 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 planningAand strategizing to use different combinations that be will prove vital in determining the winner of theAinaugural match. a?The team has gelled well over the past few days and we are eager to start the league.APersonally, I am very excited as I have not played in front of my home crowd for more than a decade. TheAformat is quite fast-paced and interesting and we obviously look forward to start on a winning note,a?Aexpressed Sharath Kamal.
The format is short and exciting where each team will play nine matches in a Tie with each match comprisingA3 Games. Consequently, each Tie shall comprise 27 Games. Each game shall have players competing to scoreA11 points first, meaning if scores are level at 10-all then the 11th point will be a Golden Point and shall decideAthe winner.
Whichever individual/pair scores 11 points and is termed as the winner of each Game shallAreceive one point towards the Teamas total for each such game that is won. The winning team in a Tie shall beAdecided by the number of total games won i.e. total points won in the relevant Tie. The Team that wins 14 orAmore Games out of the 27 Games shall be the Winner of that respective Tie.
a?The lead up to the UltimateATable Tennis has been a very enriching experience as most of us have got to interact with our idols in theAsport and even play a couple of practice matches here in Chennai. We are all set for the first match and I canAassure you it will be top class entertainment and action,a? stated Sanil Shetty of Falcons TTC.
UTT is Indiaas newest franchise-based professional sports league which will see 24 foreign players and 24AIndian players (both men and women) vie for six different franchises. AWhile Chennai will host the first leg ofAIndia’s first ever professional Table Tennis League, the second leg will be played in Delhi fromAJuly 21 to JulyA25.
The last and the final leg of the league will be held in Mumbai startingAJuly 26Awith the Semi Finals andAFinal of the Ultimate Table Tennis to be played in Mumbai city at the NSCI.
The matches will be shown live fromA7:30 PMAon Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 and will be live streamed on Hotstar and JioTV.
