FILE PHOTO: Dabang Delhi has retained G. Sathiyan (centre) for Season 7 of the Ultimate Table Tennis league. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

Indian stars Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Diya Chitale headline the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 player pool, while stalwarts G. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra have been retained ahead of the auction.

Season 7 of UTT will be held from July 9 to July 26 at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. The auction for the same will take place in Mumbai on April 28.

Thakkar and Shah return to the auction pool after missing last season due to international commitments, with the duo currently ranked World No. 5 in men’s doubles. Shah also plays with Chitale in mixed doubles, with the duo ranked World No. 6 and having created history as the first Indians to qualify for the WTT Finals.

Chitale, the most expensive pick in last season’s auction, returns to the pool after Dabang Delhi TTC opted to retain Sathiyan, extending his association with the franchise into a record seventh successive season. Batra, meanwhile, returns to the league after missing the previous edition due to injury, having been retained by Ahmedabad APL Pipers.

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Ankur Bhattacharjee and doubles specialist Akash Pal have been retained by Kolkata Thunderblades and reigning champion U Mumba TT, respectively.

Dempo Goa Challengers and PBG Pune Jaguars have opted against using their retention and will start the auction with a full purse alongside newly inducted UP Prometheans.

Teams will build their rosters through the auction system, with each franchise allocated a purse of Rs 1 crore tokens. The auction will follow a structured format with revised base prices across four pools — Rs 20 lakh, Rs 12 lakh, Rs 7 lakh, and Rs 3 lakh tokens—with bidding increments set at 20,000 tokens.

Among the international names, Welsh paddler Anna Hursey could become the first player from her country to feature in the UTT while France’s Prithika Pavade adds further depth to the women’s pool. The men’s field sees fresh international entrants, including Adrien Rassenfosse, Eduard Ionescu, Nicholas Lum, and Youssef Abdelaziz. Returning names include Bernadette Szocs, Quadri Aruna, Alvaro Robles, and Yangzi Liu.

The Indian contingent also features rising stars, headlined by prodigy Divyanshi Bhowmick, who enters the auction pool for the first time. Bhowmick made history by winning gold in the U15 girls’ singles at the 2025 Asian Cadet Championships—the first Indian to do so in 36 years—and followed it up with a bronze medal at the 2025 World Youth Championships.

Published on Apr 25, 2026