(Table Tennis News) Mumbai, June 2, 2023: The forthcoming season of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is drawing near, and the UTT Season 4 Player Draft, which took place at the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai on Friday, served as a strong indication of its arrival.
Team owners, management, and coaches delved into the task of assembling their teams, employing a mix of strategy and fortune. The UTT Season 4 Player Draft marked the beginning of an anticipated comeback season.
The draft commenced with Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and Goa Challengers, both of whom decided not to exercise their right to retain a player and were granted the opportunity to make the first picks. Capitalizing on this chance, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis swiftly secured Egypt’s Omar Assar as their initial addition to the squad, while Goa Challengers opted for former Southeast Asian Games champion Suthasini Sawettabut of Thailand. Assar’s impressive performances in recent tournaments have propelled him eight places up in the latest ITTF rankings, now standing at World No. 22.
“We are thrilled with the balanced team we have. Each player brings a unique set of skills and experience to the table, and we are confident that this team will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming league. After a long wait of three years, we are finally playing in Pune, our home stadium Balewadi, and we couldn’t be more excited,” commented Kailash Kandpal, CEO, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis.
In the second round of picks, U Mumba TT seized the opportunity to select Lily Zhang from the United States, while Bengaluru Smashers opted for Kirill Gerassimenko from Kazakhstan. Puneri Paltan Table Tennis welcomed Manush Shah to their team, while Harmeet Desai became the second addition to the squad of Goa Challengers.
Dabang Delhi TTC, already having Sathiyan Gnanasekaran on their roster through retention, chose two-time national champion Sreeja Akula. For Chennai Lions, Liu Yangzi from Australia and Benedikt Duda from Germany were the initial choices to join the ranks of ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal.
“We are happy with how the team has come together. We had already retained Sharath Kamal and the rest of the players had also been our first choices. The mix of international and domestic, this could be our team to defend the title,” co-owners Dr Karishma Yadav & Adv Harini Yadav said.
With Manika Batra retained, Bengaluru Smashers secured the services of Sanil Shetty before completing their squad by adding Poland’s Natalia Bajor, Poymantee Baisya, and Ankur Bhattacharjee.
“Very happy with the picks. We got the players we had in mind. All the teams are balanced. Besides, of course, Manika, I am looking forward to Kirill, who can be dangerous for other foreign players. He has been promising at the UTT. Even at the world level, he has been beating good players. He will be the main player to watch out for from our team, besides Manika,” Bengaluru Smashers owner Punit Balan said.
U Mumba TT CEO Suhail Chandhok returned pleased with the business. “I am extremely happy with how the draft went. My job was done when I picked the number one spot for the first pick; we were lucky to get that opportunity. Lily and [Quadri] Aruna, our top picks, joined us successfully. Adding Diya, an incredibly talented local player, brings us immense joy. Mouma joining us adds a crucial layer of experience, and Sudhanshu is also a great addition. We already had Manav before the draft, so both the coaches and I are absolutely thrilled with the squad we have,” he commented.
“The format itself is such that it gets balanced out. We’ve got a variety of players, some are new, some experienced. We are looking forward to winning the title and we have got a strong team. But it all depends on what happens on the day of the match,” Dabang Delhi owner Roshini Kapoor.
Under the guidance of Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, the franchise-based league is promoted with the support of the Table Tennis Federation of India.
Final teams:
Bengaluru Smashers: Manika Batra (Retained), Kirill Gerassimenko (Kazakhstan), Sanil Shetty, Natalia Bajor (Poland), Poymantee Baisya, Ankur Bhattacharjee
Chennai Lions: Sharath Kamal (Retained), Yangzi Liu (Australia), Benedikt Duda (Germany), Sutirtha Mukherjee, Payas Jain, Prapti Sen
Dabang Delhi Table Tennis: Sathiyan G (Retained), Sreeja Akula, Barbora Balazova (Slovakia), Ayhika Mukherjee, Anirban Ghosh, Jon Persson (Sweden)
Goa Challengers: Suthasini Sawettabut (Thailand), Harmeet Desai, Alvaro Robles (Spain), T Reeth Rishya, Kwittwika Sinha Roy, Anthony Amalraj
Puneri Paltan TTC: Omar Assar (Egypt), Manush Shah, Archana Kamath, Snehit SFR, Anusha Kutumbale, Hana Matelova (Czech Rep.)
U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar (Retained), Lily Zhang (US), Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Diya Chitale, Mouma Das, Sudhanshu Grover
Also Read: Preparation for Paris Olympics will start with UTT season 4, says Sharath Kamal
