UTT: Chennai Lions, Goa Challengers lock horns in season 4 final

PUNE: The final of the Ultimate Table Tennis season 4 will see defending champions Chennai Lions go up against Goa Challengers at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi, here 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 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," said 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.

"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," said Reeth.

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