In the inaugural seasons of UTT, then rising stars like Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Manika Batra come to the fore. The league features some of the top table tennis players from around the world, and India has its fair share of talented players representing in
Defending champions Chennai Lions take on Puneri Paltan Table Tennis at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on July 13 in the opening match of season 4. The semi-finals are scheduled on July 28 and 29 while the grand finale will be held on July 30.
The franchise-based league will witness six star-studded franchises -- Bengaluru Smashers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, Goa Challengers, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and U Mumba TT -- fighting for the coveted trophy over a period of 18 days.
Team owners, management and coaches got down to business in order to secure their teams as strategy and luck would allow them. The UTT Season 4 Player Draft set the stage for an epic comeback season.
The Ultimate Table Tennis draft will feature a total of 40 players of which 36 will be available for selection after the retentions of Sharath Kamal (Chennai Lions), Sathiyan (Dabang Delhi TTC), Manika (Bengaluru Smashers) and Manav (U Mumba TT) was utilised by four of the six franchisees.
The upcoming season of will feature six teams: Bengaluru Smashers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, Goa Challengers, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and U Mumba TT.
The coach draft at UTT began by determining the sequence or order for selection with each team picking up the numbered ball (1-6) from a pouch for Round 1. The order would be reversed for Round 2.
The franchise-based league, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), is under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has been a game changer for Indian table tennis since its inception in 2017.