Indian American investors, athletes who spend Major League table tennis

Sid Naresh. Photo -Matthew Tw Huang

India-West Staff Reporter

Los Angeles, Ca – In a sports landscape saturated with basketball, football and baseball, an unlikely competition runs in the spotlight: table tennis. Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in 2023 by software entrepreneur and lifelong enthusiastic Flint Lane, strives to make the fast, globally beloved sport a permanent fixture in the American professional athletics.

The inaugural season of the competitions started on September 15, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida, only a few weeks after a spectacular debut on ESPN's Ocho Daya playful but more visible platform for unconventional sports. MLTT returned to Ocho Day in 2024, where he confirmed the presence of the media and offered mainstream viewers a first taste of his exciting, fast size.

Since then, MLTT has grown into ten franchises that span the US, with new additions in large markets such as New York and Atlanta. One of the most recent developments: the Spinners in Seattle, one of the founder of MLTTs, were taken over by an LLC conducted by Indian-American shareholders. The franchise moves to Los Angeles prior to the 2025 season and points to the ambition of the Leagues to bring professional table tennis to the Nations Entertainment Capital.

The attraction of the competitions is not limited to fans. NBA Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili is a co-owner of the Florida Crocs, while the World Top 10 tennis player of Germany has invested Dimitrij OVTCharov in the Princeton Revolution. Players from more than 40 countries populate team schedules, but one of the most striking demography that pops up within MLTT is the growing presence and influence of players and investors of Indian descent.

Is among them ADI NetworksA player in Indian-Origin for the soon in La-based Spinners, who currently lives in New Jersey and has an American green card. The Texas Smashowned by Mahesh Joshi, contains promising talents such as Nandan Naresh And Anirban Ghosh. The Atlanta Blazers field Jeet chandraAnother striking one from India, while the Portland Peddlers Are home base Nikhil Kumar And Sid NareshWho not only shines in MLTT but also Team USA represents on the international stage.

MLTT's competition format itself is designed for entertainment: five matches per team Matchtwo Singles, One Doubles, followed by two more singles. Players compete for 21 points in total, and in the case of a draw, teams are facing a “Golden Game”, an exciting, rotating racing-to-21 with all five players. The Golden Game is worth six extra points, which often determine the outcome of the competition and inject tension in every match.

While MLTT from home-grown stars is feeding, the broader ambition of the competitions is clear: established table tennis as a sustainable and spectators-friendly sport in the US, his leadership invests in media-visibility, athlete support and the involvement of fans. In addition, MLTT not only grows a competition that promotes a cultural and generation shift.

Although most competitions play rising stars in their own country, the highest ranked American table tennis player, JhaAlso of Indian descent, continues to train and mainly compete in Europe. His success underlines the gap that MLTT hopes to bridge: building an ecosystem of world class at home so that future talents such as the Naresh or Adi Sareen brothers can thrive without leaving the country.

While MLTT starts the third season with a stronger national footprint and a diverse base, his formula of global flair, fast innovation and a growing South Asian backbone perhaps the Rally-Force-American table tennis waited.