New teams and format revitalize UTT title fight, Batra vs Szocs a key attraction

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 highintensity ties The action kicks off with reigning champions Athlead Goa Challengers taking on debutants Jaipur Patriots at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Thursday The league spanning 17 days will conclude in the grand finale on September 7The UTT 2024 promises thrilling matchups including a muchanticipated rematch between Indiarsquos 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 womenrsquos team event at the 2024 Paris OlympicsOn how interacting with the best has transformed her game PBG Bengaluru Smashersrsquo Manika had this to say ldquoPersonally it has helped me because the players come for UTT from different countries and we play against them we play with them Its really fun and we enjoy this I can see the growth thats happening especially in womenrsquos table tennis in India how we all are performing internationally We have improved a lot from UTTrdquoThe season also sees the return of two legends Achanta Sharath Kamal and Quadri Aruna As the highestranked male player in the league Aruna will go headtohead with Sharath the topranked Indian male paddler Their encounter is set to be one of the highlights of IndianOil UTT 2024Sharath leading the Chennai Lions will aim to bring glory to his home city and the passionate fans filling the stands Hersquoll be joined by UTTrsquos youngest player forming a dynamic team ready to contend for the titleAlso Read Chinas Fan Zhendong clinches gold but Swedens Truls Moregardh wins hearts by snake shotAfter playing down any fears of Indian TT fans of his immediate retirement Sharath spoke on Indiarsquos growth in table tennis culminating in several Olympic milestones ldquoThis 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 growthrdquoAdding to Sharathrsquos comments Nigerian great Quadri Aruna said ldquoIm very happy to be back here in India for the season Im very excited to be in the same teamrdquoDefending 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 beforemdashdefend their titleldquoIts 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 Im looking forward to this year since its 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 Im looking forward to it and excited to play this seasonrdquo said Harmeet on his teamrsquos chancesAll participating teams will have six players and two coaches competing in five leaguestage ties Each tie features five matchesmdashin this order Menrsquos Singles Womenrsquos Singles Mixed Doubles Menrsquos Singles and Womenrsquos Singlesmdashplayed over three games The first team to win eight games secures the tie while each game counts as a point toward the teamrsquos total The four teams with the most points at the end of the league stage will progress to the semifinalsJaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers will debut this season taking the IndianOil UTT 2024 roster to eight teams for the first time since its inception This growth brings 48 players including 16 internationals to the leaguersquos fifth editionUTT 2024 squadsAhmedabad SG Pipers Manush Shah Bernadette Szocs Romania Lilian Bardet France Reeth Tennison Pritha Vartikar Jash ModiChennai Lions Achanta Sharath Kamal Sakura Mori Japan Jules Rolland France Poymantee Baisya Mouma Das Abhinandh PBDabang Delhi TTC Sathiyan G Orawan Paranang Thailand Diya Chitale Andreas Levenko Austria Yashansh Malik Lakshita NarangAthlead Goa Challengers Harmeet Desai Yangzi Liu Australia Yashaswini Ghorpade Sudhanshu Grover Sayali Wani Mihai Bobocica ItalyJaipur Patriots Cho Seungmin South Korea Suthasini Sawettabut Thailand Snehit SFR Ronit Bhanja Moumita Dutta Nithyashree ManiPBG Bengaluru Smashers Manika Batra Alvaro Robles Spain Lily Zhang USA Jeet Chandra Taneesha Kotecha Amalraj AnthonyPuneri Paltan Table Tennis Ayhika Mukherjee Natalia Bajor Poland Joao Monteiro Portugal Ankur Bhattacharjee Anirban Ghosh Yashini SivashankarU Mumba TT Manav Thakkar Sutirtha Mukherjee Aruna Quadri Nigeria Akash Pal Kavyasree Baskar Maria Xiao SpainWith agency inputs