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The schedule for Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2024 was announced on Friday, and a total of 23 exciting ties are set to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.
The defending champions, the Goa Challengers, and newcomers, the Jaipur Patriots, will kickstart the table tennis extravaganza in the tournament opener. This season, eight teams will compete for the coveted title. World No. 10 Bernadette Szocs, World No. 16 Nina Mittelham, and Nigerian legend, World No. 19 Quadri Aruna, are among the world's top players participating. They will be joined by star Indian paddlers, including Achanta Sharath Kamal (WR 40), Sreeja Akula (WR 25), and Manika Batra (WR 28). UTT 2024 will also feature promising Indian talents such as Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Poymantee Baisya, Abhinandh PB, Jeet Chandra, and Yashansh Malik. Debutant team Ahmedabad SG Pipers will launch their campaign against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis on Day 2, while Chennai Lions will face PBG Bengaluru Smashers in an exciting southern derby later the same day. Dabang Delhi TTC and U Mumba TT will play their opening tie against each other on August 24. The addition of two new teams this season introduces a slight change in the competition format. Teams will be divided into two groups of four for the league stage. Each team will play five ties--once against the three teams in their group and two randomly chosen teams from the other group. The top four teams on the points table will progress to the knockout stage, with the semi-finals featuring Team No. 1 vs Team No. 4 and Team No. 2 vs Team No. 3. Each tie will consist of five matches--two men's singles, two women's singles, and one mixed doubles. (ANI)
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