Thunder Falcons led by Raegan Albuquerque and Manushee Patil will take on Century Bashers team led by Chinmay Somaiya and Senhora D’Souza in the opening Group-A league match on the opening day of the DCB Bank-Mumbai Premier League (MPL) – Table Tennis 2023, organized by The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA, Mumbai) in association with the Mumbai City District Table Tennis Association (MCDTTA), at the Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul (PTKS), Vile Parle on Friday evening.
In the second match of the same group, PTKS Achievers comprising Jash Modi, Ananya Chande and Hardee Patel will clash with Mumbai Royals with Sagar Kasture, Ananya Basak and Sharveya Samant as their key players.
In Group-B matches, Ping-Pong Knights meet Underdogs and Ping Panthers face off against Super Titans.
The matches will commence soon after the opening ceremony at 3.00pm. Chief Guest, Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav, recipient of the Param Vir Chakra will inaugurate the tournament in the presence of Guest of Honour Shivaji Satam, Cine Artist, Arvind Prabhoo, President, PTKS & TSTTA and TSTTA Executive Committee Members.
Eight franchise-based teams will be fighting to emerge champions in this tournament which offers a cash reward of Rs 1.5 lakh for the champion team and Rs 75,000 for the runners-up. The two losing semi-finalists would receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each.
Each team will comprise of players in six categories – Veterans (39+), Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys and Junior Girls and Sub-Junior Boys. The eight teams will compete on a league-cum-knockout basis and table tennis enthusiasts are certain to witness many tense and absorbing battles for supremacy.
The teams and owners are – Super Titans (owners: Bhavesh Shah and Pinakin Sampat), Ping Panthers (owners: Nishad Naik and Samir Raut), Century Bashers (owners: Sandeep Katiyar, Raman Iyer and Prakash Panjabi), Mumbai Royals (owner: Nishant Vora), Thunder Falcons (owners: Preeti Bhowmick and Ashlesha Trehan), Ping Pong Knights (owner: Bharat Saroopa), Underdogs (owner: Manoj Saroopa), PTKS Achievers (owners: Arvind Prabhoo and Sameer Bhate).
The teams have been divided into two pools of four each and will initially play in a round-robin league. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals.
The groupings – Group A: Century Bashers, Mumbai Royals, Thunder Falcons, PTKS Achievers.
Group B: Ping-Pong Knights, Ping Panthers, Underdogs, Super Titans.