Ahmedabad, June 1 (IANS) Debutants Kolkata ThunderBlades will kick off their Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 campaign against Stanley’s Chennai Lions on Monday in the day’s first tie. Following that, U Mumba TT will clash with Western rivals Ahmedabad SG Pipers in a highly anticipated derby.

Led by an all-star foreguard of Olympians Aruna Quadri and Adriana Diaz, as well as India’s 18-year-old sensation Ankur Bhattacharjee, Kolkata ThunderBlades are well-positioned to make an impact in their debut season. Aruna (World Ranking 27), returning for his fifth season with UTT, is the highest-ranked men’s player this season, while Diaz (WR17), back for her second assignment after 2018, is the second-highest-ranked women’s player.

All eyes, however, will be on Ankur, who was the undisputed find of the previous season. Storming into the arena with unbridled intensity, Ankur won four of his five matches and 10 of the 15 games he contested–at a win rate of 66.67, the second-highest in Season 5–and stacked high across the board in terms of numbers in a breakout campaign.

On the opposite end will be the former Youth World No. 1 Payas Jain, flanked by seasoned international stars Fan Siqi and Kirill Gerassimenko. Fan, the highest-valued player at this season’s auction, is only the third player from China to partake in the league, while Kazakhstan’s Gerassimenko is back for his third taste of UTT, after previously appearing in seasons three and four.

In the day’s second tie, U Mumba TT will aim to settle scores from last season’s 9-6 defeat against Western rivals Ahmedabad SG Pipers in what promises to be a closely fought clash. While both sides would have completed their opening fixtures by then, this matchup carries extra edge, with both teams fielding revamped and balanced line-ups for Season 6.

Leading the charge for U Mumba is World No. 12 Bernadette Szocs, the highest-ranked player in the league. She’ll be supported by returning Frenchman Lilian Bardet and rising Indian star Yashaswini Ghorpade. For the hosts, Ricardo Walther—fresh off a strong debut despite a 10-5 loss to Dempo Goa Challengers—will be key. His growing chemistry with Ayhika Mukherjee in the mixed doubles category adds intrigue to an already high-stakes contest.

Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, UTT continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, will take place at Ahmedabad’s EKA Arena.

–IANS

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