Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 squads: Full list of players, teams, retentions

Sharath, 42, and Abhinandh, 16, will have a chance to showcase their thrills in the Lions’ bid to regain the crown on home turf during UTT’s fifth edition, to be played in Chennai from August 22.

Published : Jul 10, 2024 19:46 IST , MUMBAI - 2 MINS READ

Table Tennis players Sharath Kamal, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manav Thakkar pose with the championship trophy during the ‘Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 Player Draft’. | Photo Credit: PTI

It had retained the oldest member for the fifth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT). On Tuesday, during the Player Draft, Chennai Lions added the youngest member in the UTT’s fifth season, P.B. Abhinandh, to its roster to strike a rare phenomenon.

Interestingly, Sharath - who cut a cake two days ahead of turning 42 - and Abhinandh, 16, will have a chance to showcase their thrills in the Lions’ bid to regain the crown on home turf during UTT’s fifth edition, to be played in Chennai from August 22.

The Lions also achieved the rare distinction of having both the Padma Shri table tennis recipients in its squad, with Sharath – seated on the yellow table hours before departing for his record fifth Olympic bid – welcoming veteran Mouma Das to its roster.

Defending champion Goa Challengers had a revised look, with Australia’s Yangzi Liu – who was among the most consistent singles players in UTT 2023 – joining captain Harmeet Desai.

While PBG Bengaluru Smashers struck gold by adding Spaniard southpaw Alvaro Robles and USA’s aggressive female paddler Lily Zhang, along with retained Manika Batra, the two new teams – Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers – will rely on the Indian stars.

While the Patriots picked in-form Sreeja Akula up front, the Ahmedabad outfit went for Gujarat’s son, a bespectacled Manush Shah to lead its troupes.

Diluted field

While most international stars from the last edition have given UTT a miss this time around, three prominent Indian paddlers also pulled out of the franchise-based league.

Archana Kamath, a member of India’s Paris-bound women’s squad, has cited personal reasons due to a planned family vacation immediately after the Olympics, while promising youngsters Payas Jain and Suhana Saini will focus on improving their world junior rankings on the international circuit.

THE SQUADS
Ahmedabad SG Pipers
Manush Shah, Bernadette Szocs (ROM), Lilian Bardet (FRA), T. Reeth Rishya, Pritha Vartikar, Jash Modi.
Chennai Lions
 A. Sharath Kamal, Sakura Mori (JPN), Jules Rolland (FRA), Poymantee Baisya, Mouma Das, Abhinandh PB.
Dabang Delhi TTC
G. Sathiyan, Orawan Paranang (THA), Diya Chitale, Andreas Levenko (AUT), Yashansh Malik, Lakshita Narang.
Goa Challengers
Harmeet Desai, Yangzi Liu (AUS), Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sudhanshu Grover, Sayali Wani, Mihai Bobocica (ITA).
Jaipur Patriots
Sreeja Akula, Cho Seungmin (KOR), Suthasini Sawettabut (THA), Snehit SFR, Ronit Bhanja, Moumita Dutta.
PBG Bengaluru Smashers
Manika Batra, Alvaro Robles (ESP), Lily Zhang (USA), Jeet Chandra, Taneesha Kotecha, Anthony Amalraj.
Puneri Paltan Table Tennis
Ayhika Mukherjee, Nina Mittelham (GER), Joao Monteiro (POR), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Yashini Sivashankar.
U Mumba TT
Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (NGR), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (ESP).