UTT to Begin on Thursday; Captains Unveil Trophy

Pune, Jun 12 (PTI) Captains of the six teams today unveiled the trophy for the second edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) that will begin here on June 14.

The skippers of the respective teams are Achanta Sharath Kamal (Warriors TTC), Gnanesekaran Sathiyan (Dabang Smashers TTC), Liam Pitchford (Falcons TTC), Simon Gauzy (Empowerji Challengers), Harmeet Desai (RP-SG Mavericks) and Joao Monteiro (Maharashtra United).

"UTT has created a platform for Indian players. I was the only undefeated player last season and it gave me the confidence to do well on the world tour," Sathiyan said on his rise in the world rankings from 120 to 44.

Pitchford believes the tournament has been equally beneficial to the foreign players.

"Last season, it was helpful in dealing with the pressure situations during the World Tour events. So it not just helps Indian players but international players too," he said.

After the Pune leg, UTT will be held in Delhi from June 20-25, before the final leg in Kolkata from June 26 to July 1, a media release issued here said.

In all, players from 19 countries, including 24 Olympians, will participate in the event.

The winners will be richer by Rs 1 crore, while the runners-up will bag Rs 75 lakh. Both losing semi-finalists will get Rs 25 lakh each.

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