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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Indian paddlers poised to deliver in sixth season of Ultimate Table Tennis
After delivering fast-paced action to fans in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai over the first five seasons, the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) caravan is headed to a new destination. 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 However, Manika has since withdrawn due to an injury.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. More stories from this issue
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘UTT's biggest strength is its low-cost model'
Mumbai: Table tennis in India tends to largely be associated with the metro cities, from where a big chunk of the country's top players also come. However, television viewership pattern of last year's Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), India's TT league that will begin its sixth season from May 31 in Ahmedabad, threw an interesting curveball. From the uptick in the total watch time from 129 million minutes to 167 million minutes during the fifth season, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh contributed nearly 40% through the regional language feed, as per TV viewership data provided by the organisers. 'We started (UTT) thinking that it will only be the metros, but we realised that at any given point of time most people play TT, be it for recreational or entertainment purposes. We are happy if tier 2 and tier 3 cities get involved with the game. Many people can connect to the sport. We've got to capitalise on that advantage,' said Vita Dani, co-promoter of UTT. Into the sixth season after its debut in 2017 -- it wasn't held during the pandemic years -- the league hasn't quite rocketed in the country's leagues ecosystem, but has taken steady strides. From six teams in the first four seasons, it now has eight teams with Jaipur and Ahmedabad adding to franchise representation from Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. One franchise, said Dani, is already making money and another has broken even. A few leagues across sports in India have been through boom and bust in quick time, notably in badminton, hockey (it was revived earlier this year), and volleyball. Dani said table tennis' sustainability is down to the league's low-cost model, as well as having centralised logistics. Every season is held at one venue, and taken to different cities thus far. Ahmedabad is another experiment in 'testing new geographical areas'. 'Our biggest strength as a league is that we're a real low-cost model,' Dani said. 'We have tried to make it centralised to ensure that the franchises stay interested. We are very mindful of the money that we spend. It needs to be spent well, not just because somebody else is spending. More franchises have come in, which means more people see value in this property.' The initial years, Dani did acknowledge, were about testing the waters to run a league in a sport that isn't fully mainstream yet even though it is gaining popularity with India's rising stocks in TT. 'In Season 1, we had only one sponsor. Last year, every possible property was sold out. There are different spenders — people who spend at the IPL (Indian Premier League) level, and those who spend at other levels. We are okay to be in any category, as long as there is money coming into the game,' Dani said. 'I don't think we are a unique league. Every league has evolved, be it IPL or PKL (Pro Kabaddi League). The key is to innovate.' The sixth season, that will run from May 31 to June 12, will have a Chinese player for the first time. Fan Siqi, the women's world No.35, was acquired by Chennai Lions at the auction held last month.
United News of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- United News of India
DSF collaborates with UTT as Youth Development Partner to launch Dream UTT Juniors
Ahmedabad, May 9 (UNI) In a bid to foster sports development at the grassroots level, Dream Sports Foundation (DSF), the philanthropic arm of Dream Sports, on Monday announced an exclusive partnership with Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT). As the Youth Development partner, DSF will launch the inaugural Dream UTT Juniors, a U-15 Table Tennis tournament curated to provide professional league experience to emerging table tennis talent. The inaugural Dream UTT Juniors will be held alongside the sixth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis league in Ahmedabad from May 29 to June 8 and will be streamed live on FanCode. Speaking on the partnership, Harsh Jain, CEO & Co-founder, Dream Sports said, "At Dream Sports, we are driven by our vision to 'Make Sports Better'. Thanks to Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has played a pivotal role in nurturing India's table tennis talent to compete & win at the global stage. But there remains a pressing need to support grassroots talent, and our partnership to create Dream UTT Juniors is a big step toward bridging this gap." "Through our Dream Sports Foundation, we aim to empower the next generation of athletes to make India proud in the 2030 Youth Olympics and thereafter at the 2036 Olympics,' Jain said. Vita Dani, Co-promoter, Ultimate Table Tennis further added, 'Dream UTT Juniors is a natural extension of our shared vision with Dream Sports Foundation — to strengthen the foundation of sport in India and empower young athletes. By giving budding table tennis talent early exposure to the world-class UTT ecosystem, we're not just launching a tournament — we're creating a pathway for the next generation of Indian stars to emerge.' As part of the Dream UTT Juniors, the top eight boys and eight girls from the recently concluded Dream Sports Championship Table Tennis 2025, a first-of-its-kind U-15 tournament organised by DSF in association with Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), have been drafted into the eight franchises of UTT. They will have the unique opportunity to experience the intensity and standards of India's premier table tennis league, thus accelerating their growth. The announcement follows the recent success of DSF's U-15 table tennis tournament, which was widely praised for its high level of competition and professionally managed setup—qualities rarely seen at the youth level in India. Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has elevated the sport since its inception in 2017, featuring top international and domestic talent. The tournament has played a pivotal role in the steady growth of table tennis talent in India, by providing a platform for young players to compete and learn under a professional set-up. The collaboration between DSF and UTT will play a pivotal role in the comprehensive growth of Indian table tennis, establishing a clear pathway for athlete progression by nurturing the sport and providing a structured roadmap for player development. UNI BM
India Gazette
19-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
DSF collaborates with UTT as Youth Development Partner to launch 'Dream UTT Juniors'
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI): In a bid to foster sports development at the grassroots level, Dream Sports Foundation (DSF), announced an exclusive partnership with Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT). As the Youth Development partner, DSF will launch the inaugural Dream UTT Juniors, a U-15 Table Tennis tournament curated to provide professional league experience to emerging table tennis talent, according to a release from Dream Sports Foundation. The inaugural Dream UTT Juniors will be held alongside the sixth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis league in Ahmedabad from May 29 to June 8. Speaking on the partnership, Harsh Jain, CEO & Co-founder, Dream Sports said, 'At Dream Sports, we are driven by our vision to 'Make Sports Better'. Thanks to Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has played a pivotal role in nurturing India's table tennis talent to compete & win at the global stage. But there remains a pressing need to support grassroots talent, and our partnership to create Dream UTT Juniors is a big step toward bridging this gap. Through our Dream Sports Foundation, we aim to empower the next generation of athletes to make India proud in the 2030 Youth Olympics and thereafter at the 2036 Olympics,' as quoted from a release by Dream Sports Foundation. Vita Dani, Co-promoter, Ultimate Table Tennis further added, 'Dream UTT Juniors is a natural extension of our shared vision with Dream Sports Foundation -- to strengthen the foundation of sport in India and empower young athletes. By giving budding table tennis talent early exposure to the world-class UTT ecosystem, we're not just launching a tournament -- we're creating a pathway for the next generation of Indian stars to emerge.' As part of the Dream UTT Juniors, the top eight boys and eight girls from the recently concluded Dream Sports Championship Table Tennis 2025, a first-of-its-kind U-15 tournament organised by DSF in association with Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), have been drafted into the eight franchises of UTT. They will have the unique opportunity to experience the intensity and standards of India's premier table tennis league, thus accelerating their growth. The announcement follows the recent success of DSF's U-15 table tennis tournament. (ANI)
