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.
V Ajith, Sunil Kumar and Arjun Deshwal emerged as the best players for Jaipur Pink Panthers with six points each on the night. The Panthers played their cards perfectly in the final seconds of the match and clinched their second Pro Kabaddi League title.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers finished at the top of the table at the end of the league stage, but have been at the wrong side of the result against Puneri Paltan in both their matches during the league stage. The Panthers, who have not reached the Final since 2016, will be hoping to better their
Pankaj Mohite (16 points) and Mohammad Nabibakhsh (6 points) were the stars on an incredibly tense and vibrant evening as the Puneri Paltan won the game 39-37 at the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
For the Jaipur Pink Panthers, the duo of Arjun Deshwal and Rahul Chaudhari will once again be tasked with leading the charge in attack. However, for the Bengaluru Bulls, who defeated last season's champions Dabang Delhi KC in Eliminator 1, will turn to the very capable Vikash Kandola and Bha