UTT 2024: New teams, new format make for challenging fight for title

No franchise has been able to lift the coveted Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) silverware twice. The Chennai Lions came agonisingly close to retaining its title last season but fell short against the Goa Challengers 7-8 in a thrilling finale.

With the sixth edition of the league beginning at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Thursday, the Lions will be hoping to regain the crown on home turf.

However, the addition of two new teams into the mix—Ahmedabad SG Pipers and Jaipur Patriots—is only going to make the road to the final further back-breaking for Achanta Sharath Kamal and Co.

“It all depends on how we start the season, as we have little to no information about the rest of the teams since it’s a new system. Our preparations remain the same as every year, and hopefully, we enter the playoffs this season,” Sharath said when addressing the media on the eve of the lung opener between the defending champion Challengers and the Patriots.

An overhaul of the competition format is what Sharath alludes to. The teams are set to be divided into two groups of four during the league stage. Each side is going to feature in five ties—once each against the three teams in the same group and then versus two randomly chosen teams from the other group. The top four teams will later progress to the semifinals scheduled for September 5 and 6. The final will take place on September 7.

Each tie will consist of five matches—two men’s singles, two women’s singles, and one mixed doubles.

Missing in action

Six of the 12 international stars from the 2023 roster will be missing in the upcoming iteration of the franchise-based league.

World No. 13 Romanian Bernadette Szocs, who beat India’s Archana Kamath 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9 during the women’s team round of 16 match at the Olympics, will be the best-ranked player in the league followed by Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri (20).

Additionally, World No. 17 Nina Mittelham’s debut in the league wasn’t to be after the German paddler suffered a hand injury during Paris 2024. Poland’s Natalia Bajor (world no. 36) was announced as her replacement in the Puneri Paltan squad earlier this month.

A few key Indian names, which include Paris returnees Kamath and Sreeja Akula, have also pulled out. While the former cited personal reasons, Akula, who reached the pre-quarterfinal of women’s singles at the Olympics, is recuperating from a stress fracture.