Chennai, Aug 21 (IANS): Stage is all set for the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2024, where rivalries will be rekindled and new icons will emerge across 23 high-intensity ties. The action kicks off with reigning champions Goa Challengers taking on debutants Jaipur Patriots at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The league, spanning 17 days, will conclude in the grand finale on September 7.

UTT 2024 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 interacting with the best has transformed her game, Bengaluru Smashers’ Manika said, “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: Achanta 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. Their encounter is set to be one of the highlights of IndianOil UTT 2024.

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 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 quarterfinals 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.”

Adding to Sharath’s comments, Nigerian great Quadri Aruna said: “With huge spending into the sport of table tennis in India, we have seen huge growth. Indian players are already title contenders in most of the tournaments in the world. So I think table tennis has improved a lot in India.” Aruna also expressed his delight at returning to UTT with U Mumba TT. “I'm very happy to be back here in India for the season. I'm very excited to be on the same team.”

Defending champions 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 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. So definitely, we are very confident, because this team has been very consistent, making it to the playoffs three times out of four. So, I'm looking forward to it and excited to play this season,” said Harmeet on his team’s chances.

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 semifinals.

Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers will debut this season, taking the UTT 2024 roster to eight teams for the first time since its inception. This growth brings 48 players, including 16 internationals, to the league’s fifth edition.

On her new team Ahmedabad SG Pipers much-awaited debut, Szocs said: “I am very excited to be again part of UTT. It was a pleasure to be invited again. I love to play here; I love all the fans who are very big supporters of table tennis. And of course, always when I come here, everything is perfect with good organisation. So I am very happy to be back here and I hope this time I can win with my new team.”

Snehit SFR, meanwhile, underlined Jaipur Patriots’ goals for the campaign: “We face off against Goa challenges. They are the defending champions, and we want to win the match and set the tone for the tournament. Being a new franchise, there's a lot of new energy, and a lot of enthusiasm, because the management is very experienced in different sports. I think we have a great team and have a great shot at doing well this season.”

Promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the Table Tennis Federation of India’s auspices, UTT has significantly contributed to the growth of table tennis in India since its inception in 2017. Indian TT has witnessed remarkable progress, highlighted by Team India’s historic participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

UTT 2024 offers a platform for players like Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Ayhika Mukherjee to continue their stellar performances, elevating the game further.

On making UTT history as the only player to feature for the same team five times, Sathiyan said: “It's fantastic to be again with Dabang Delhi TTC. To me, Delhi has always been together, like a family. I'm really happy with the trust the management has and it's fantastic that we've been to playoffs in every season, we've been playing well as a team. I hope that streak continues but we'll take it match by match.”

“UTT, for me, it helped me a lot. It's a big stage and it helped me boost my confidence and play in a similar atmosphere to outside. Everybody sees UTT from (my native state) West Bengal, and everybody really loves it, and they also really want to be a part of it,” remarked Ayhika, who beat World No.1 Sun Yingsha since the last edition, on UTT’s growing popularity.

Matches will air on Sports18 Khel on TV and stream live on JioCinema in India.

UTT 2024 Squads:

Ahmedabad SG Pipers: Manush Shah, Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Lilian Bardet (France), Reeth Tennison, Pritha Vartikar, Jash Modi

Chennai Lions: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sakura Mori (Japan), Jules Rolland (France), Poymantee Baisya, Mouma Das, Abhinandh PB

Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan G, Orawan Paranang (Thailand), Diya Chitale, Andreas Levenko (Austria), Yashansh Malik, Lakshita Narang

Goa Challengers: Harmeet Desai, Yangzi Liu (Australia), Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sudhanshu Grover, Sayali Wani, Mihai Bobocica (Italy)

Jaipur Patriots: Cho Seungmin (South Korea), Suthasini Sawettabut (Thailand), Snehit SFR, Ronit Bhanja, Moumita Dutta, Nithyashree Mani

Bengaluru Smashers: Manika Batra, Alvaro Robles (Spain), Lily Zhang (USA), Jeet Chandra, Taneesha Kotecha, Amalraj Anthony

Puneri Paltan Table Tennis: Ayhika Mukherjee, Natalia Bajor (Poland), Joao Monteiro (Portugal), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Yashini Sivashankar

U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (Spain)