MUMBAI: Defending champion Falcons TTC chose to go with a winning coach for the second CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis League, opting for Soumyadeep Roy in the draft pick for coaches, conducted under the supervision of Ernst & Young, and attended by Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) senior vice-president, Rajeev Bodas, event co-owner Vita Dani and the six team owners.
Falcons, who got the opportunity to choose their coach first after the draw of lots, opted for the 34-year-old 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and current Indian team coach.
Yoddhas, next in line, opted for Hungary’s Ferenc Karsai (last season with Maharashtra United).
RP-SG Mavericks kept faith in Arup Basak as the first choice for the coach’s post. Challengers and Yoddhas managed to get back their previous coaches, A. Muralidhara Rao and Sandeep Gupta, to make it a grand day for the Indians.
The six teams were required to pick one foreign and one Indian coach each. The second edition will be played in three cities and each franchise will comprise a combination of overseas and Indian players (four men and four women).
The coaches line-up (Indians first):
Falcons TTC: Soumyadeep Roy & Vesna Ojstersek (Slovenia).
Yoddhas: Sandeep Gupta & Ferenc Karsai (Hungary).
RP-SG Mavericks: Arup Basak & Elena Timina (The Netherlands).
Challengers: A. Muralidhara Rao & Peter Engel (Germany).
Dabang Smashers TTC: Sachin Shetty & Andrei Filimon (Romania).
DHFL Maharashtra United: N. Ravichandran & Francisco Santos (Portugal).
