Manika Batra: Manika Batra starer Bengaluru Smashers will aim to register their first win as they go up against defending champions Chennai Lions in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4, here on Thursday.
Bengaluru Smashers lost their previous two ties in Season 4 against U Mumba TT and Dabang Delhi TTC and lie in the sixth position in the points table.
Manika will be the key player for the franchise in the next tie, while Kirill Gerassimenko and Natalia Bajor will also look to contribute to the victory.
"The last two ties were really difficult and we haven't started really well in the tournament. However, the team can always make a comeback. We are looking forward to fight and give our best in the next tie against Chennai Lions. We are not giving up and trying to make a comeback with our quality," commented Kirill ahead of the upcoming tie against Chennai Lions.
On the other hand, Chennai Lions will bank on the likes of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Yangzi Liu and Benedikt Duda who have been in fine form in the league. They won their opening tie against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis before losing the next one to U Mumba TT after a close fight.
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"The way he played and performed as a team in the league has given us a lot of confidence going into the next tie against Bengaluru Smashers. We are the defending champions and it gives us a lot of confidence when we play against any opponent in Season 4," commented Sutirtha ahead of the tie.