UTT 2023 Draft: Veteran Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are among the four players retained by their respective franchises ahead of the fourth season of the 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. Follow Ultimate Table Tennis 2023 Updates on InsideSport.IN
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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.
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