Bengaluru Smashers, Goa Challengers eye semi-finals spot in UTT Season 4
However, Goa Challengers faced a crushing defeat to the defending champions Chennai Lions which dampened their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of Season 4.
Manika Batra (Photo/UTT)
PUNE: In-form Bengaluru Smashers and Goa Challengers will look to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 when they clash on Tuesday at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune. Bengaluru Smashers will be coming into the tie after their thrilling victory against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis.
However, Goa Challengers faced a crushing defeat to the defending champions Chennai Lions which dampened their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of Season 4.
Bengaluru Smashers will hope that World No. 35 Manika Batra continues her winning momentum, while Kirill Gerassimenko and Natalia Bajor are also the key players for the franchise.
"The last few ties were really difficult but a win against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis has given us a lot of confidence that we can always make a comeback. We are looking forward to fight and give our best in the next tie against Goa Challengers," commented Kirill ahead of the upcoming tie as quoted by UTT.
On the other hand, Goa Challengers will look to bounce with some sublime performances. They have won two ties in the ongoing season and will bank on the likes of Harmeet Desai, T Reeth Rishya and Alvaro Robles.
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 our upcoming tie and we will look to bounce back with a win."