UTT 2023 Semi-Final 2 Live Blog, Results, Commentary: Chennai Lions beat 8-3 Puneri Paltan to enter final

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With an aim to qualify for their second straight final, defending champions Chennai Lions are set to lock horns with Puneri Paltan Table Tennis in the second semi-final of the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 on Saturday (July 29) at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi in Pune.

Chennai Lions - who lost their last tie against Dabang Delhi T.T.C in the UTT 2023 - will be looking to put their best foot forward and qualify for the finals.

The team's senior-most player Achanta Sharath Kamal will be the key player for the franchise despite losing his last match to Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Benedikt Duda - who is ranked No. 33 in the world - and Yangzi Liu will look to continue their winning performance in the semis.

Puneri Paltan Table Tennis - on the other hand - will bank on their young paddlers Manush Shah and Archana Kamath apart from their international star World No. 21 Omar Assar who is also the former All-Africa Games champion.

Manush - who hails from Gujarat - upset World No. 17 Quadri Aruna in the last league tie and will be looking to win two games for his franchise in the all-important semi-final. The semi-final starts at 7.30 PM with broadcast on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema.

Chennai Lions vs Puneri Paltan TT UTT Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Highlights

Jul 29, 2023, 9:06 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates and Commentary

Happy with the win tonight as we are in the final for the straight second time. We have nothing much to celebrate tonight, credit to Puneri Paltan for putting up some fight. A round of applause for the fans. I would request the fans to come out in good numbers and watch the final between the two best teams in the league on Sunday night. - Chennai coach.

Jul 29, 2023, 9:03 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates and Commentary

Tie Result in Semi-Final 2: Chennai Lions 8-3 Puneri Paltan TT Benedikt Duda 3-0 Omar Assar (11-5, 11-7, 11-6) Yangzi Liu 2-1 Hana Matelova (3-11, 11-8, 11-7) Sharath/Yangzi 2-1 Manush/Hana (11-4, 9-11, 11-6) Sharath Kamal 1-1 Manush Shah (5-11, 11-5)

Jul 29, 2023, 9:00 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates and Commentary

Sharath Kamal wins the second game against Manush Shah with a scoreline of 11-5 and with that win, Chennai Lions have broken the defending champions' jinx and stormed into their second straight final in Ultimate Table Tennis. Manush Shah - who caused a massive upset a couple of evenings back - couldn't emerge as the giant killer this time around and all Sharath needed to win one game and he did it in some style.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:53 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Score, Commentary and Blog

The fourth match of the evening is between Manush Shah and Sharath Kamal in the second men's singles contest of the evening. The youngster from Puneri Paltan has defeated the titan from Chennai Lions' 11-5 in the first game and the tie score stands at 7-3 between Chennai and Pune. Will Manush be able to pull off yet another upset in the competition?

Jul 29, 2023, 8:47 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Sharath Kamal and Yangzi Liu were far superior a rival to Manush Shah and Hana Matelova and won the game 2-1 in the mixed doubles and gave their team a 7-2 lead. The Chennai Lions duo started the third game on a dominant note and continued the momentum to win it. Manush and Hana were good only in patches but the experience of Sharath and Liu was too hot to handle.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:36 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates and Commentary

Sharath and Yangzi made a comeback in the game after trailing 6-3 at one stage and equalised it 7-7. But Manush and Hana too were not ready to give it up easily this time and showed some perseverance to win the game 11-9. The mixed doubles match stands 1-1. Will Manush and Hana be able to bring Puneri Paltan back in the game, let's get ready for the third and final game of this game.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:30 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Semi-Final 2 Live

Sharath Kamal and Yangzi Liu take the first game 11-4 against Manush Shah and Hana Matelova. Chennai Lions are cruising at the moment and it going to be a do-or-die game for Puneri Paltan for they have to win it to remain in the hunt. Chennai lead tie score 6-1 against Pune.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:24 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

We are on to the third match of the evening. Chennai Lions' Sharath Kamal and Yangzi Liu are up against Manush Shah and Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan in the mixed doubles match. Sharath-Liu are leading 5-3 at the halfway stage.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:22 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Semi-Final Live Updates

Take here's the Chennai Lions 5-1 Puneri Paltan TT tie result today: Benedikt Duda 3-0 Omar Assar (11-5, 11-7, 11-6). Yangzi Liu 2-1 Hana Matelova (3-11, 11-8, 11-7).

Jul 29, 2023, 8:11 pm IST

UTT 2023 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Yangzi Liu shows resistance in the second game and takes it 11-8 to equalise 1-1. The next game is going to be an interesting one as both the players have tasted win in one game each.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:02 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Blog

Domination from Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan TT in the opening game of women's singles. She takes the first game 11-3 in her favour against Liu.

Jul 29, 2023, 8:00 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Chennai Lions vs Puneri Paltan Live Score and commentary

The second match of the evening is between Yangzi Liu of Chennai Lions and Hana Matelova of Puneri Paltan TT. Matelova has an early lead in the opening game against Liu, but will she be able to continue the same momentum and bring her team back in the game?

Jul 29, 2023, 7:56 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Benedikt Duda takes the first match 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-6) against Omar Assar - who had no response to the onslaught from the German. Chennai Lions have started confidently as they've won the opening match, men's singles, to go 1-0 up in the second semi-final tie.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:47 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates and Commentary: Chennai Lions 2-0 Puneri Paltan

Omar Assar comes back strongly in the second game and was at par with 5-5. However, Duda - the world number 33 - showed his experience and came back strongly in the second half to take the game 11-7 in his favour and give an early 2-0 lead to Chennai Lions.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:42 pm IST

UTT 2023 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Chennai Lions' Benedikt Duda takes the first game against Omar Arssar. The defending champions - who lost their previous tie against Dabang Delhi - have started on a confident note tonight. But it is a long way.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:37 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Puneri Paltan Table Tennis Coaches: N Ravichandran, Zoltan Batorfi. Puneri Paltan Players: Omar Assar, Manush Shah, Archana Kamath, Snehit SFR, Anusha Kutumbale and Hana Matelova.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:35 pm IST

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

For those wondering about the teams! Here's the Chennai Lions coaching staff comprising Somnath Ghosh & Jorg Bitzigeio. The players in the team are as follows, Achanta Sharath Kamal, Yangzi Liu, Benedikt Duda, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Payas Jain and Prapti Sen.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:33 pm IST

UTT 2023 Semi-Final 2 Live Updates

Action begins at Belawadi! Benedikt Duda of Chennai Lions is up against Omar Assar of Puneri Paltan in the first game of the evening.

Jul 29, 2023, 7:32 pm IST

UTT Season 4 Semi-Final 2 Live

Hello, this is Avinash Sharma and I welcome to the live updates of the UTT Season 2023 Live Updates of the match between Chennai Lions and Puneri Paltan TT from Pune. The teams are ready, so are we.