Champions Dabang Delhi T.T.C. were pegged back in their opening game of the season by Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and are searching for their first win of the season as they step out against Season 3 debutants, UMumba TT, at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi.

The young UMumba team put up a sharp display of all-round table tennis to win their first tie against Chennai Lions and will look to keep the momentum going as they come up against Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Co. Sathiyan was the shining star in an otherwise forgettable Dabang outing and would be keen to overcome compatriot Manav Thakkar or Kirill Gerassimenko, the latter having an incredible outing in his debut appearance, downing Portuguese Olympian Tiago Apolonia of the Chennai Lions.

Manav Thakkar against Jon Persson too, if it happens, will be an interesting match-up, as the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship doubles winner continues his growth, winning one big game at a time.

In the women’s singles, Bernadette Szocs will look to notch up a first win, but she has a huge task ahead of her if she faces either of Doo Hoi Kem or Sutirtha Mukherjee, who trounced Petrissa Solja in her first outing.

Dabang Delhi will rely heavily on strategy as they take on a UMumba team coming at them at full steam, and will have to use all resources at hand to squeeze out a result.

Tune in to Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD, Hotstar and JioTV today at 7 pm IST to watch the action unfold in Tie 5.