Ultimate Table Tennis 2024: A comprehensive guide to the tournament

Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, and Sathiyan G. during a press conference (Pic: UTT)

IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2024 is back in its biggest season yet, with eight teams set to compete for the coveted crown at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. The tournament will begin today and will run for the subsequent 17 days, finishing with the Final scheduled on September 7.

Promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India, the tournament has been a game-changer for Indian table tennis since its inception in 2017 and as we gear up for the Table Tennis carnival, here is a complete guide to IndianOil UTT 2024.

What's New

Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers are set to make their debut this season, marking a significant milestone as the UTT expands its roster to eight teams for the first time since its inception.

This exciting growth means 48 talented players will be featured in the league, ensuring that the fifth edition of the UTT will be more competitive and thrilling than ever before. With fresh teams and global talent joining the fray, this season promises to elevate the excitement and level of play in Indian table tennis.

Among the 48 players featured, there are 16 international stars, several Olympians, multiple Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallists, World Champions, and National Champions in both the Junior and Senior categories.

Also Read: Why India struggles for global medals

Teams

Ahmedabad SG Pipers

Owners: SG Sports and Entertainment Private Limited

Coaches: Francisco Santos (Foreign Coach) and Jay Modak (Indian Coach)

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

PBG Bengaluru Smashers

Owners: Punit Balan

Coaches: Elena Timina (Foreign Coach) and Anshuman Roy (Indian Coach)

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

Chennai Lions

Owners: Mr. S Rangarajan - Chairman & MD of Data Patterns, Mrs. Rekha Murthy Rangarajan - Director of Data Patterns, Mr. GS Ravi, Chief Mentor, LiteMed, & Mr. Vinay Chandra, Principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP US

Coaches: Tobias Bergman (Foreign Coach) and Subin Kumar (Indian Coach)

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

Dabang Delhi TTC

Owners: DOIT Sports Management

Coaches: Vesna Ojstersek (Foreign Coach) and Sachin Shetty (Indian Coach)

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

Athlead Goa Challengers

Owners: Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, Chairman of the Dempo Group from Goa, and Mr. Vivek Bhargava, Co-Founder - ProfitWheel

Coaches: Zoltan Batorfi (Foreign Coach) and Subhajit Saha (Indian Coach)

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

Jaipur Patriots

Owners: World of Krida Pvt. Ltd.

Coaches: Ronald Redep (Foreign Coach) and Somnath Ghosh (Indian Coach)

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

Puneri Paltan

Owners: InsureKot Sports Pvt. Ltd

Coaches: Jorg Bitzigeio (Foreign Coach) and Parag Agarwal (Indian Coach)

Players: Ayhika Mukherjee, Natalia Bajor (Poland), Joao Monteiro (Portugal), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Yashini Sivashankar

U Mumba

Owners: Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd

Coaches: John Murphy (Foreign Coach) and Anshul Garg (Indian Coach)

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

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: Dining with Federer to pep talk with Rathore, Sharath Kamal lists his five best Olympic moments

Format and Rules

Tournament Format

1. a) The League Stage will see all eight teams split into two groups of four for fixture-assigning purposes. Each team will play five ties in the league stage: three teams in their group once and two random opponents from the adjacent quartet.
2. b) Teams shall play all five matches and 15 games in a tie even if one team has secured the winning eight team points in a tie in the league stage. The team points won by winning each game by a team will be added to their overall tally; the teams' rankings in the league table will be decided on the total team points won by each team in all league stage ties.
3. c) After the completion of the scheduled league stage, there shall be a knock-out stage concluding in the Final to determine the eventual winner of UTT in that season. The top four teams from the league table in the season will qualify for the knock-out stage.
4. d) The knock-out stage will comprise two semi-finals, wherein the first-placed team will play the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team will face the third-placed team.

Format of play

1. a) Every team shall play five matches within a tie in this order - men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, men's singles, and women's singles.
2. b) Each match shall comprise three games. As such, each tie shall comprise 15 Games.
3. c) Each game shall have the players competing with each other to score 11 points first, meaning if scores are level at 10 each, then the 11th point will be a Golden Point and shall decide the winner.
4. d) The winning team in a tie shall be decided by the number of total games won, i.e., total team points won in the relevant tie. In the league stage, the team that wins eight or more games out of the 15 shall be termed as the winner of that respective tie, but the tie will continue until all 15 games and five matches are played. In the knockouts, the first team to win eight games shall be declared the winner, culminating the tie there and then.
5. e) No player can play more than two matches in a tie, including mixed doubles. Furthermore, no player can play more than one singles match in a tie. However, the same player can play the mixed doubles.

Schedule

22nd August 19:30 Athlead Goa Challengers vs Jaipur Patriots

23rd August 17:00 Puneri Paltan TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

23rd August 19:30 Chennai Lions vs PBG Bengaluru Smashers

24th August 17:00 Dabang Delhi TTC vs U Mumba TT

24th August 19:30 Athlead Goa Challengers vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

25th August 17:00 Chennai Lions vs Dabang Delhi TTC

25th August 19:30 U Mumba TT vs Jaipur Patriots

26th August 19:30 PBG Bengaluru Smashers vs Puneri Paltan TT

27th August 19:30 U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

28th August 19:30 Dabang Delhi TTC vs Athlead Goa Challengers

29th August 19:30 PBG Bengaluru Smashers vs Jaipur Patriots

30th August 17:00 Chennai Lions vs U Mumba TT

30th August 19:30 Dabang Delhi TTC vs Puneri Paltan TT

31st August 17:00 PBG Bengaluru Smashers vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

31st August 19:30 Chennai Lions vs Athlead Goa Challengers

1st September 17:00 Puneri Paltan TT vs Jaipur Patriots

1st September 19:30 Dabang Delhi TTC vs PBG Bengaluru Smashers

2nd September 19:30 U Mumba TT vs Athlead Goa Challengers

3rd September 19:30 Chennai Lions vs Puneri Paltan TT

4th September 19:30 Jaipur Patriots vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers

5th September 19:30 Semi-Final 1

6th September 19:30 Semi-Final 2

7th September 19:30 FINAL

Where To Watch

Broadcast: Sports18 Khel

Online Streaming: JioCinema (India); Facebook Live (Outside India)

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