A major difference in the third edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) to the previous two seasons will be in the titles of the six teams. For the first time in the franchise-based league’s history each team will be identified with a city or region.
After trying out an open franchise-model in the first two editions, UTT organisers have resorted to six city-based teams in order to build a bigger fan base for the league to be played in New Delhi from July 25 to August 11.
The move has found support from A. Sharath Kamal, the flag-bearer of Indian table tennis for a decade and a half.
“The fan pool for a sport like table tennis is small, so I guess it’s great to identify a city-based team to find a wider fan connect,” Sharath told The Hindu . “I am sure it will reflect in many more sport-lovers noticing UTT.”
The move reflected in the fact that Chennai Lions, one of three new entrants this season, latched on to local star Sharath at the beginning of the player draft last week.
“I sensed that the combination of the squad didn’t really matter. It was important for the team to have me on board to create a local connect,” Sharath said.
Once G. Sathiyan, the highest-ranked Indian to feature in the league, was retained by Dabang Delhi, Chennai Lions had no hesitation in adding Sharath to its roster.
Besides Sharath, those turning out for home teams include Parth Virmani (Dabang) and Prapti Sen (RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata).
According to Vita Dani, co-promoter of the league, the change in the format is one of the means to “promote table tennis better in a league that is evolving”.
