Ultimate Table Tennis: a passion project in need of mainstream sizzle

Since the inception of the Indian Premier League, numerous franchise-based leagues have mushroomed in the Indian sporting ecosystem. However, only a select few, such as the Indian Super League and the Pro Kabaddi League, have lasted even five editions.

In September, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), a brainchild of Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, two corporate giants with a personal interest in the sport, joined the rare list. UTT has survived on both sides of the global pandemic, largely because of its co-promoters' passion for the game.

A series of experiments

In fact, with the addition of two teams for the fifth edition, which concluded in Chennai earlier this month, the promoters are excited about UTT being a thriving product. The business of the competition is a story for another day, but for now let's explore the sporting aspect.

Over a seven-year, five-season essay, UTT has tried a series of experiments, from format changes to roster composition and player pool, in an effort to make the action around the 9×5 table more interesting with each passing edition.

The 2024 season was no different, with the two new teams freshening things up. Athlead Goa Challengers led by the dynamic Harmeet Desai may have created history by becoming the first team to win multiple UTT titles, that too in consecutive editions, but the two new teams had contrasting debuts.

While Ahmedabad SG Pipers made it to the knockouts, Jaipur Patriots' campaign was derailed even before the tournament started, with little Sreeja Akula forced to withdraw due to a stress fracture. SFR Snehit's knee injury made matters worse as the Patriots nearly found themselves in contention for a Playoff spot before fading away.

Ronald Redep, the Croatian coach of the Jaipur franchise, stressed the need for a better replacement policy for players. She [UTT] tried roping in Archana [Kamath] but she told them she was retired, so there was no way we could have gotten a formidable Indian female paddler of the same stature, so there must be a plan to ensure such events don't rob a team, Redep told us. The Hindu.

Redep even went a step further and also looked for a replacement pool of foreign players halfway through the tournament. I come from a country of four million people where teamwork is most important. We had a player who just wasn't interested in being part of the team, but I couldn't drop him because there was no replacement option available. If these issues are addressed, UTT will grow even further.

Six players were selected through a draft from each of the eight UTT franchises, including a foreign male and female rower. Additionally, each of the six existing franchises had been given the option to retain one player each season since the league's revival post-COVID-19.

Attract a wider audience

This results in every team getting a new look almost every season, including the coaches. While this may make the tournament a level playing field, it is detrimental from the followers' perspective. For a sport like table tennis, which has a very limited fan base in India, identifying teams based on their star players could potentially attract a wider audience in the coming editions.

In the run-up to the next edition, it is imperative for the UTT organizers to extend the option of retention to two players ahead of the draft. Equally important, the ability to retain coaches should also be made available, especially given that franchises must choose from a central list of coaches made available to them.

Harmeet did everything he could to keep two players and one coach for the next edition. It will help because sometimes it takes time for the player to understand the coach and vice versa. If there is a coach retention and more players are retained for the next edition, the bond would be much better, according to the Paris Olympian.

However, veteran coach Elena Timina, who has been involved in each of the five UTT editions and was the Goa Challengers coach in the 2023 edition, played a perfect devil's advocate for the demand to retain coaches.

What if out of eight teams, six are happy with their coaches and they are going to keep their coaches and the other two are not happy and they have to stick with the same coaches they have? So there are ways to think about it and there is also time, she said.

While retention policies will have to be discussed by the technical officials involved in the competition, the operations and marketing departments will have to come up with innovative ways to attract spectators to the stands.

For each of the five editions to date, UTT promoters have relied on the active table tennis community and former rowers, their friends and families to provide a significant presence.

With the way the league's revenue model is structured, franchises pay a lump sum per season to UTT, which covers all costs for the season. Franchise owners have little incentive to spend further on marketing to attract spectators; responsibility lies solely with UTT.

After trying the caravan model for the first two editions, UTT has opted for a single-city model for the last three editions.

The challenge in the stages

But the people of Chennai, despite the aura of the legendary A. Sharath Kamal and his successor G. Sathiyan, stayed away from the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium for most of the 17-day event. With all the focus on creating buzz through social media for the live broadcast of the event, the fans in the stadiums, a crucial element for a sport like table tennis, seemed to have been ignored.

With fictitious publicity and very few activation options in the host city, most residents of Chennai were unaware that the event was taking place in their home city. It resulted in empty stands for many of the days, despite the reasonable ticket prices.

We need to get more publicity. I think people were happy watching the stream. We are a largely improving sport. We should first let more people come and experience it, Sathiyan said.

Those who watched the big show were eager to come again. You should take them once, and then they will know that the competition is organized in the best possible way. I think that would really create a good image. It will get better in the coming seasons.

If the UTT promoters can find a balance in addressing all these issues, the sixth edition could well hit the ball out of the park.