Sathiyan, Sharath, Manika among retained players ahead of UTT season 4

India’s Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in action against Mick Crea and Laura Sinon of England during Mixed Doubles Table Tennis match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG), in Birmingham,UK, Thursday, Aug 4, 2022.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Veteran Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are among the four players retained by their respective franchises ahead of the fourth season of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league.

Defending champions Chennai Lions have retained ten-time national champion Sharath, while UTT Season 3 finalists Dabang Delhi TTC have decided to continue with Sathiyan at the fore.

India’s star female paddler Manika Batra has been retained by Bengaluru Smashers with the retention transfer originating from her former franchise, while Asian Games bronze medallist Manav Thakkar will continue at U Mumba TT.

“The Season 4 and this will be my fourth consecutive season for Dabang Delhi. The most unforgettable moment was certainly winning the championship point for Dabang Delhi in Season 2. I am eagerly looking forward to play for Delhi family again and win the UTT this year,” Sathiyan said.

The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

The upcoming season will feature six teams: Bengaluru Smashers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, Goa Challengers, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and U Mumba TT.

At the recently concluded UTT Season 4 Coach Draft, where franchises were able to pick up two coaches each; attention now turns towards building a six-player squad at the UTT Season 4 Player Draft to be held in Mumbai next month.

There will be a pool of 40 players available, from which each team can pick two foreigners – one male and one female — and four Indians – two male and two female.

The league will be held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune from July 13-30.