Ahmedabad, June 10 (IANS) Placed third at the time of writing, Jaipur Patriots will take on seventh-placed PBG Pune Jaguars in a must-win tie for both outfits in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Wednesday.

Jaipur Patriots come into the clash riding a three-match win streak, having bounced back impressively since their opening day loss to Dabang Delhi TTC. Currently third with 32 game points, the Patriots will be keen to tighten their grip on a playoff berth with just one tie remaining in the UTT league stage.

Pune, on the other hand, sit seventh with 28 points and can ill afford a third straight loss if they are to stay in the hunt for the top four.

The Patriots appear to have settled into a winning core. Sreeja Akula has been the standout, winning all four of her singles matches and boasting the third-highest forehand win percentage (67%) among women.

Kanak Jha, Britt Eerland, and Jeet Chandra have all won their last two or more singles matches, suggesting Jaipur have built strong momentum at the right time. The only question mark remains the mixed doubles, where they’ve managed just one win across four outings despite trying out multiple combinations.

Pune’s campaign has veered between sharp highs and frustrating lows. Reeth Rishya and Anirban Ghosh have been their consistent contributors, both regularly notching up game wins even in defeat.

However, Spanish veteran Alvaro Robles will be eager to turn his form around, having won just one of his four matches. South Korea’s Zion Lee, filling in for the injured Dina Meshref, is also hunting for her first victory. With the playoffs on the line, Pune will need a collective performance to break Jaipur’s rhythm and reignite their charge.

Squads:

Jaipur Patriots: Britt Eerland (Netherlands), Kanak Jha (USA), Sreeja Akula, Jeet Chandra, Pritha Vartikar, Yashansh Malik.

PBG Pune Jaguars: Alvaro Robles (Spain), Zion Lee (South Korea), Taneesha Kotecha, Anirban Ghosh, Reeth Rishya, Mudit Dani.

–IANS

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