Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) held its Coach Draft in Mumbai on Friday because the six franchises picked their coaches for the approaching version of the league, scheduled from July 13 to 30.
The UTT Season 4 Coach Draft used to be attended via UTT co-promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani in conjunction with staff house owners who made their first strategic transfer for the season via opting for a mixture of 1 Indian and one international trainer from the ability to be had within the pool.
The draft started via figuring out the collection or order for variety with each and every staff selecting up the numbered ball (1–6) from a pouch for Round 1. The order could be reversed for Round 2.
The league’s latest staff, Bengaluru Smashers made the primary pick out in Round 1 to carry Sachin Shetty on board earlier than including Slovenia’s Vesna Ojstersek as their international trainer in Round 2.
“I think Vesna and Sachin were a combination for Delhi which ended up as runners-up in 2019. We had that at the back of our mind. Our team had done the homework and these were our first choices. It’s always good to be a part of a league, especially a non-cricketing league. We are happy to be a part of UTT,” commented Punit Balan, proprietor of Bengaluru Smashers.
Second to select a trainer, Dabang Delhi TTC zeroed in on an skilled A Muralidhara Rao first after which bagged four-time Olympian Slobodan Grujic of Serbia as their international trainer in the second one spherical. Dabang Delhi TTC proprietor Radha Kapoor Khanna felt the method used to be very fascinating and used to be taking a look to paintings with their selections.
“We came in with a few equations in mind between the international and Indian coaches. We had a few options. We are hoping that a combination of Muralidhara Rao and Slobodan brings in the winning spirit,” she mentioned.
U Mumba TT and Puneri Paltan Table Tennis discovered their desired aggregate in Portugal’s Francisco Santos and Anshul Garg, and N Ravichandran and Zoltan Batorfi of Hungary respectively.
“Francisco and Anshul were our top picks. We have been in touch with Francisco from Portugal, he is already happy being a part of the U Mumba TT franchise and really wanted to work with Anshul. It was really important to get a young combination on the circuit,” mentioned U Mumba TT CEO Suhail Chandhok.
Puneri Paltan Table Tennis CEO Kailash Kandpal commented at the staff’s selection: “I’m pleased with the mix we picked. Zoltan and Ravichandran labored in combination of their closing project in Kolkata. They paintings lovely neatly as a unit. There have been different mixtures we had in thoughts, however this used to be our precedence,”
Goa Challengers picked a mixture of five-time Olympian Elena Timina and Parag Agrawal. Vivek Bhargava, the Goa Challengers’ proprietor, felt the season began neatly for them with their selections on the trainer’s draft. He additional added: “The draft used to be superb for us. We were given our two most sensible coaches.
Defending champions Chennai Lions picked India’s Somnath Ghosh earlier than finishing the draft with the addition of German Jörg Bitzigeio, who guided the German girls’s staff to bronze medal on the 2010 World Team Championships, as their international trainer in the second one spherical.
“We are elated to be part of UTT. We intend to provide our very best. The aggregate of Somnath Ghosh and Jorg Bitzigeio will lend a hand us select the most efficient gamers to be had within the draft,” Chennai Lions house owners Harini Yadav and Karishma Yadav mentioned in a joint remark.
Having their coaches in line, the groups can start their arrangements for the UTT Season 4 Player Draft to be held early subsequent month. The franchise-based league is promoted via Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani below the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India.
The upcoming season of the league might be performed on the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.