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Defending champions Phantom Stars strengthened their squad for the upcoming Butterfly Table Tennis Super League Maharashtra 2026 by signing Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sanil Shetty for Rs 69,500 at the player auction, while teenage prodigy Divyanshi Bhowmick emerged as the most expensive buy for the second straight year, joining Mumbai Mozartt for Rs 73,000.
Divyanshi, one of India's most exciting young paddlers and a gold medallist at the Asian Youth and Cadet Table Tennis Championships, headlined the auction once again after an impressive run on the international youth circuit. Meanwhile, Jash Modi was snapped up by Bayside Spinners TTC for Rs 71,000, according to a press release. Among the other top purchases, Reeth Rishya joined PBG Pune Jaguars for Rs 61,500, while Shouren Soman was picked by new entrants NPV Smashers for the same amount. Commonwealth Games medallist Madhurika Patkar added valuable experience to the line-up of debutants Jolly Friends Sports Club, joining them for Rs 51,500. Each of the eight teams participating in the Butterfly TTSL Maharashtra 2026 was given an Rs 2,50,000 purse to build their squads across six categories--U-13 Boys, U-17 Girls, U-17 Boys, Senior Women, Senior Men and Veterans--ensuring a competitive mix of emerging prospects and seasoned paddlers. India's Premier TT league, Ultimate Table Tennis--Butterfly TTSL, Maharashtra's goal is to strengthen grassroots talent development and elevate state-level competition. The event will take place from April 30 to May 3, bringing together some of Maharashtra's best players in a professional league environment. The tournament will feature eight teams divided into two groups of four, with each side playing five ties in the league stage--facing all teams within its group once and two teams from the opposite group. Each tie will consist of nine matches, with every match played over three games, resulting in 27 games per tie. Each game won contributes one point to the team's tally, and the side securing 14 or more games will be declared the winner of that tie. Every game will be played up to 11 points, with a Golden Point at 10-10 deciding the winner, ensuring closely fought encounters across categories including Men's Singles, Women's Singles, U-17 Boys, U-17 Girls, U-13 Boys and Veterans, along with doubles and mixed doubles matches. A total prize pool of Rs 8.5 lakh--including individual prizes--will be up for grabs, with the champions receiving Rs 3,50,000, the runners-up Rs 1,75,000, and the losing semi-finalists Rs 1,00,000 each. Full Squads Ping Panthers: Deepit Patil, Pritha Vartikar, Prateek Tulsani, Swara Karmarkar, Swaraj Redkar, Aditya Garde Bayside Spinners TTC: Jash Modi, Senhor D'Souza, Parth Magar, Sukrati Sharma, Rajvardhan Tiwari, Ketan Palvankar Century Warriors: Anish Sontakke, Sampada Bhiwandkar, Aaditya Dalal, Naisha Rewaskar, Raghav Mahajan, Santosh Wakradkar Jolly Friends Sports Club: Raegan Albuquerque, Madhurika Patkar, Akanksh Sahoo, Ikshika Umate, Mohil Thakur, Gurucharan Singh Gill Mumbai Mozartt: Zubin Taraporewalla, Shreya Deshpande, Ishan Khandekar, Divyanshi Bhowmick, Aakarshan Yadav, Vivek Kolte NPV Smashers: Sagar Kasture, Ananya Chande, Shouren Soman, Ruchita Darvatkar, Nirav Mulye, Suhas Rane PBG Pune Jaguars: Neil Mulye, Reeth Rishya, Ramanuj Jadhav, Kavya Bhatt, Vardaan Kolte, Amol Sarode Phantom Stars: Sanil Shetty, Shruti Amrute, Kaustubh Girgaonkar, Annisha Patra, Ayaan Athar, Onkar Jog Top Buys Divyanshi Bhowmick - Rs 73,000 (Mumbai Mozartt)Jash Modi - Rs 71,000 (Bayside Spinners TTC)Sanil Shetty - Rs 69,500 (Phantom Stars)Reeth Rishya - Rs 61,500 (PBG Pune Jaguars)Shouren Soman - Rs 61,500 (NPV Smashers). (ANI)
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