Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Defending champions Goa Challengers will face newcomers Jaipur Patriots in the opening match of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) scheduled to be held here from August 22 to September 7.
A total of 23 ties will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium as eight teams will compete for the coveted title. World No. 10 Bernadette Szocs, World No. 16 Nina Mittelham, and Nigerian legend and current World No. 19 Quadri Aruna, are among the top players participating. They will be joined by star Indian paddlers, including Achanta Sharath Kamal (WR 40), Sreeja Akula (WR 25), and Manika Batra (WR 28).
The event will also feature promising Indian talents such as Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Poymantee Baisya, Abhinandh PB, Jeet Chandra, and Yashansh Malik. The franchise-based league will see a total of 48 players, including 16 internationals, in action.
Debutant team Ahmedabad SG Pipers will launch their campaign against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis on Day 2, while Chennai Lions will face PBG Bengaluru Smashers in an exciting southern derby later the same day. Dabang Delhi TTC and U Mumba TT will play their opening tie against each other on August 24.
The addition of two new teams this season introduces a slight change in the competition format. Teams will be divided into two groups of four for the league stage. Each team will play five ties once against the three teams in their group and two randomly chosen teams from the other group. The top four teams on the points table will progress to the knockout stage, with the semi-finals featuring Team No. 1 vs Team No. 4 and Team No. 2 vs Team No. 3.
Each tie will consist of five matches -- two men's singles, two women's singles, and one mixed doubles. The high-voltage action will be broadcast live on Sports18 and streamed on JioCinema.
