Indian paddlers poised to deliver in sixth season of Ultimate Table Tennis
The sixth edition of the franchise-based league is set to take place at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad from May 31 to June 15.
Conducted under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India and promoted by Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, UTT has featured the crème de la crème of Indian table tennis along with several well-known global stars since its inception in 2017.
The tournament has typically been organised in June and July, except for the last season, which began in late August due to the Paris Olympics. However, the upcoming edition, comprising 23 ties across 16 days, begins less than a week after the conclusion of the World Championships in Doha on May 25, where 20 of the 48 UTT players were in action. 'It's a very small window that we have. Players don't play every day, and the amount of game time is also very concise,' Dani told Sportstar when asked about potential concerns regarding fatigue or withdrawals by those participating in Doha.
'We have to strike a balance between the international and the sporting calendar in India. We usually like to start after the IPL (Indian Premier League) because that is when the excitement is maximum. It also helps with our promotions, as viewership is at its peak. Keeping the international calendar in mind, we don't want to clash with major events. It affects participation from both Indian and overseas players.'
Previous Winners
2017 – Falcons TTC
2018 – Dabang Smashers TTC
2019 – Chennai Lions
2023 – Goa Challengers
2024 – Goa Challengers
(No seasons were held between 2020 and 2022 due to COVID-19.)
First-ever auction
After operating under a draft system for the first five seasons, the league held its first-ever auction on April 15 in Mumbai, where each of the eight teams had a notional purse of Rs. 50 lakh. Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula were retained by Dempo Goa Challengers and Jaipur Patriots, respectively, via the Right to Match card. Ahmedabad SG Pipers signed Manika Batra after PBG Pune Jaguars released the star paddler. However, Manika has since withdrawn due to an injury. She will be replaced by Ayhika Mukherjee.
Fan Siqi, the only Chinese participant, emerged as the most valued player at Rs. 19.70 lakh. However, this value is not the actual amount paid. Each player has been contracted by UTT for an undisclosed fee. 'It (the auction) is just to create more excitement. It introduces more variables and provides strategic options, opening up many avenues.' Although there will be no top 10 player for the fifth consecutive season, Indian athletes will have the chance to compete with and against several established international stars, such as Romania's Bernadette Szocs (World No. 13), Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz (World No. 17) and Nigeria's Quadri Aruna (World No. 25).
Szocs became the first Romanian woman since Otilia Badescu in 1993 to win a medal at the World Championships in Doha where she and Austria's Sofia Polcanova grabbed a bronze.
Bernadette Szocs in action. | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan.
New additions
Apart from a new host city, this edition has several other additions. A new franchise, Kolkata Thunder Blades — co-owned by Uneecops and Mvikas — replaces Bengaluru Smashers. The Puneri Paltan has also rebranded itself as PBG Pune Jaguars. An Under-15 event titled Dream UTT Juniors will run alongside the main tournament.
Targeting organic growth in attendance
Since the league began in 2017, India has won 15 medals at the Commonwealth Games, three at the Asian Games, and seven at the Asian Championships. Indian players such as Manika, Harmeet, Sreeja, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, G. Sathiyan, Ayhika, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Diya Chitale have benefitted from competing in UTT against high-quality international opponents.
The presence of such players can only inspire and benefit the next generation of Indian talent.
However, Achanta Sharath Kamal (above) — India's most decorated paddler and a key figure in the country's global success in the sport — retired after the WTT Star Contender in March and will not feature as a player in UTT 6. Also, two of Gujarat's finest players, Manav and Manush, will miss this season due to commitments in other foreign leagues.
'There are many rules across multiple leagues around the world that state that if someone is playing in one league, they cannot play in another. There will inevitably be some clash somewhere. Sometimes, we don't have a choice and will miss out on some good talent. But this also creates opportunities for younger and promising players. Our junior players will also be introduced to and gain exposure through the league,' said Dani. While the single-city editions of 2019 (Delhi) and 2023 (Pune) had better turnout, the previous season in Chennai recorded an average footfall of just 600 per match, despite home favourites Sharath and Sathiyan in action.
Hat-trick on the cards: Goa Challengers defended its title in the previous edition, led by stellar performances by the likes of Harmeet Desai. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu
Dani emphasised that the focus is on organic audience growth: 'We want people to come for the sport itself. For that, we need to take the game to the people. That's why we have been to different venues. In some places, you feel only 700 people have come because the venues are larger-than-life. We want the right audience — those who attend because they genuinely want to.'
What's the format?
The eight teams have been split equally into two groups. Each team will face the other three teams in its group, as well as two sides from the opposite group.
For example, if Group A has teams 1, 3, 5, 7 and Group B has teams 2, 4, 6, 8, then:
Team 2 plays Team 1 and Team 3
Team 4 plays Team 1 and Team 3
Team 6 plays Team 5 and Team 7
Team 8 plays Team 5 and Team 7
Each tie comprises two men's singles, two women's singles, and one mixed doubles match. Every match includes three games.
Unlike international rules requiring a two-point lead to win a game, UTT uses a Golden Point to decide games tied at 10–10. The team that wins eight games in total wins the tie. The top four teams will advance to the knockout stage.
SQUADS Dempo Goa Challengers
Zeng Jian, Harmeet Desai, Tiago Apolonia, Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Sayali Wani Chennai Lions
Kiril Gerassimenko, Payas Jain, Sudhanshu Grover, Fan Siqi, Nikhat Banu, Jennifer Varghese Dabang Delhi TTC
Diya Chitale, Maria Xiao, G. Sathiyan, Quek Izaac, Suhana Saini, Sourav Saha PBG Pune Jaguars
Alvaro Robles, Anirban Ghosh, Mudit Dani, Dina Meshref, Reeth Rishya, Taneesha Kotecha U Mumba TT
Lilian Bardet, Akash Pal, P.B. Abhinandh, Bernadette Szocs, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh Kolkata Thunder Blades
Quadri Aruna, Ankur Bhattacharjee, Deepit Patil, Adriana Diaz, Selena Selvakumar, Ananya Chande Jaipur Patriots
Britt Eerland, Kanak Jha, Sreeja Akula, Jeet Chandra, Pritha Vartikar, Yashansh Malik Ahmedabad SG Pipers
Ayhika Mukherjee, Ricardo Walther, SFR Snehit, Giorgia Piccolin, Divyansh Srivastava, Yashini Sivashankar
Note: The story has been updated to reflect news of Manika Batra's injury.
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