Outstanding performance by young Indian paddlers

• The sixth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) saw 23 matches, 16 days of action, and two nail-biting semifinals.
• U Mumba TT, led by Romanian Bernadette Szocs, emerged as the new champion after a successful player auction.
• U Mumba was the only team to give at least one match to each of the six players in the squad.
• The team relied heavily on youngsters, with Akash Pal, P.B. Abhinandh, Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Swastika Ghosh being either in teens or early 20s.
• Yashaswini, a Bengalurean with Maharashtrian roots, played a major role in ending Goa Challengers’ title defence.
• The tournament saw eight Indian paddlers make their UTT debuts over the fortnight, indicating the rising quality of young Indian talent.
• The more young talent on display at UTT, the better it is, according to Sachin Shetty, the Jaipur Patriots coach.

Top Indian Paddlers and UTT 2025

• Three top Indian paddlers, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Manika Batra, did not participate in UTT 2025 due to commitments in European leagues.
• The absence of these players impacted UTT’s success, with Manush and Manav unable to draw a local crowd in their home state.
• The decision to skip UTT 2025 was due to a clash of the tournament schedule with their European league commitments.
• Manika Batra pulled out due to an injury after featuring in the World Championship, jeopardizing Ahmedabad SG Pipers’ season.
• Tobias Bergman, the Kolkata ThunderBlades coach, emphasized the importance of featuring top Indian players in UTT to raise their status and the tournament’s reputation.

Amending the Format

• A simpler format for UTT could attract more general sport fans.
• The current five-league matches are confusing for fans and create an unsuitable situation for franchises in terms of form and fixtures.
• John Murphy, coach of U Mumba, suggested allowing the team winning the toss to choose whether to start with a male or female player.

Vitamin M’s Perspective on UTT

• UTT is backed by co-promoters passionate about the sport and not all interested in making money.
• Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, two leading industrialists, believe that UTT’s success is more than just financials.
• Despite the challenges, Vita is pleased with the steady growth of the league, with some teams raising over ₹50 lakh through jersey sponsorships.