Ultimate Table Tennis: Goa slated to face debutant Jaipur in season opener

CHENNAI: The stage is set for the IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2024, where rivalries will be rekindled, stars will clash, and new icons will emerge across 23 high-intensity ties. The action kicks off with reigning champion Athlead Goa Challengers taking on debutants Jaipur Patriots at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.

UTT promises thrilling matchups, including a much-anticipated rematch between India’s ace paddler Manika Batra and World No 13 Bernadette Szocs. The two have faced off multiple times since their junior days, with Manika winning their last encounter in the women’s team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On how competing with the best has transformed her game, Bengaluru Smashers’ Manika had this to say: “Personally, it has helped me, because the players come for UTT from different countries, and we play against them, we play with them. It's really fun, and we enjoy this. I can see the growth that's happening, especially in women’s table tennis in India, how we all are performing internationally. We have improved a lot from UTT.”

The season also sees the return of two legends - Sharath Kamal and Quadri Aruna. As the highest-ranked male player in the league, Aruna will go head-to-head with Sharath, the top-ranked Indian male paddler.

Sharath, leading the Chennai Lions, will aim to bring glory to his home city and the passionate fans filling the stands. He’ll be joined by UTT’s youngest player, forming a dynamic team ready to contend for the title.

After playing down any fears of Indian TT fans of his immediate retirement, Sharath spoke on India’s growth in table tennis, culminating in several Olympic milestones: “This is the first time both Indian teams, men and women qualified for the Olympic Games in the team event. The girls went further on; they went on to play in the quarter-final in the team event, and especially Manika and Sreeja (Akula) got into the Last 16 in the individual event (at Paris 2024). So performances like this have been constantly coming up, and India has been constantly growing in the international arena and we look forward to more growth.”

Defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers, anchored by Harmeet Desai and featuring the unbeaten Yangzi Liu from UTT 2023, will aim to achieve what no team has done before—defend their title.

“It's a privilege to represent the Athlead Goa Challengers once again this time. Last year we qualified with a point margin and then went on to win the title. So it was a very, very special season with a special team. I'm looking forward to this year since it's a different scenario because there will be eight teams you will be fighting against,” said Harmeet.

All participating teams will have six players and two coaches, competing in five league-stage ties. Each tie features five matches—(in this order) Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles, Men’s Singles, and Women’s Singles—played over three games. The first team to win eight games secures the tie, while each game counts as a point toward the team’s total. The four teams with the most points at the end of the league stage will progress to the semi-finals.

Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers will debut this season. This growth brings 48 players, including 16 internationals, to the league’s fifth edition.