The Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is back for its fifth season, promising a thrilling spectacle of table tennis action. The tournament kicks off on August 22nd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, with a total of 23 ties scheduled to take place until September 7th. This year, the league sees an expansion, with eight teams vying for the coveted title, compared to six in the previous season.
Defending champions Goa Challengers will be looking to defend their title, while newcomers Jaipur Patriots will be eager to make their mark. The tournament will feature a stellar lineup of both international and Indian players. Among the international stars are World No. 10 Bernadette Szocs, World No. 16 Nina Mittelham, and Nigerian legend, World No. 19 Quadri Aruna. They will be joined by prominent Indian paddlers, including Achanta Sharath Kamal (WR 40) and Manika Batra (WR 28).
UTT 2024 will also showcase the talents of promising Indian players such as Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Poymantee Baisya, Abhinandh PB, Jeet Chandra, and Yashansh Malik. The league, with its franchise-based format, will witness a total of 48 players in action, including 16 international players.
The ties will begin at 7:30 PM, with six double-headers scheduled, where the first tie will start at 5:00 PM, followed by the second at 7:30 PM. The semi-finals are scheduled for September 5 and 6, with the grand finale taking place on September 7th.
The introduction of two new teams this season has led to a slight modification in the competition format. The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four for the league stage. Each team will participate in five ties – one match against each of the three teams in their group and two matches against randomly chosen teams from the other group. The top four teams on the points table will advance to the knockout stage, with the semi-finals featuring Team No. 1 vs Team No. 4 and Team No. 2 vs Team No. 3.
Each tie will consist of five matches – two men’s singles, two women’s singles, and one mixed doubles.
Here is a quick look at the teams and their star players:
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Ahmedabad SG Pipers:
Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Jash Modi, Lilian Bardet (FRA), Manush Shah, Prita Vartikar, Reeth Rishya*
Chennai Lions:
Abhinandh PB, Jules Roland (FRA), Mouma Das, Poymantee Baisya, Sakura Mori (JPN), Sharath Kamal*
Dabang Delhi:
Andreas Levenko (AUT), Diya Chitale, Lakshita Narang, Orawan Paranang (THA), Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Yashansh Malik*
Bengaluru Smashers:
Alvaro Robels (ESP), Amalraj Antony, Jeet Chandra, Lily Zhang, Manika Batra, Taneesha Kotecha*
Goa Challengers:
Harmeet Desai, Mihai Bobocica, Sayali Wani, Sudhanshu Grover, Yangzi Liu (AUS), Yashaswini Ghorpade*
Jaipur Patriots:
Cho Seungmin (KOR), Moumita Dutta, Ronit Bhanja, Snehit, Suthasini Saveettabut*
Puneri Paltan:
Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Ayhika Mukherjee, Joao Monteiro (POR), Natalia Bajor (POL), Yashini Sivasankar*
UMumba:
Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Manav Thakkar, Maria Xiao (ESP), Quadri Aruna (NIG), Sutirtha MukherjeeNote:
The replacement for Sreeja Akula in the Jaipur Patriots is yet to be announced.UTT 2024 will be broadcast live on Sports18 and streamed on JioCinema. Stay tuned for all the exciting action!
Here is the full schedule for UTT 2024:
August 22, Thursday:
* Goa Challengers vs Jaipur Patriots – 7:30 PM IST
August 23, Friday:
* Puneri Paltan TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers – 5 PM IST
* Chennai Lions vs Bengaluru Smashers – 7:30 PM IST
August 24, Saturday:
* Dabang Delhi TTC vs U Mumba TT – 5 PM IST
* Goa Challengers vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers – 7:30 PM IST
August 25, Sunday:
* Chennai Lions vs Dabang Delhi TTC – 5 PM IST
* U Mumba TT vs Jaipur Patriots – 7:30 PM IST
August 26, Monday:
* Bengaluru Smashers vs Puneri Paltan TT – 7:30 PM IST
August 27, Tuesday:
* U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers – 7:30 PM IST
August 28, Wednesday:
* Dabang Delhi TTC vs Goa Challengers – 7:30 PM IST
August 29, Thursday:
* Bengaluru Smashers vs Jaipur Patriots – 7:30 PM IST
August 30, Friday:
* Chennai Lions vs U Mumba TT – 5 PM IST
* Dabang Delhi TTC vs Puneri Paltan TT – 7:30 PM IST
August 31, Saturday:
* Bengaluru Smashers vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers – 5 PM IST
* Chennai Lions vs Goa Challengers – 7:30 PM IST
September 1, Sunday:
* Puneri Paltan TT vs Jaipur Patriots – 5 PM IST
* Dabang Delhi TTC vs Bengaluru Smashers – 7:30 PM IST
September 2, Monday:
* U Mumba TT vs Goa Challengers – 7:30 PM IST
September 3, Tuesday:
* Chennai Lions vs Puneri Paltan TT – 7:30 PM IST
September 4, Wednesday:
* Jaipur Patriots vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers – 7:30 PM IST
September 5, Thursday:
* Semi-Final 1 – 1st vs 4th – 7:30 PM IST
September 6, Friday:
* Semi-Final 2 – 2nd vs 3rd – 7:30 PM IST
September 7, Saturday:
* Final – Semi-Final 1 Winner vs Semi-Final 2 Winner – 7:30 PM IST
