"There weren’t such opportunities that we have now" - Harmeet Desai lauds Ultimate Table Tennis for India's recent success

Sports in India is going through an era of franchise leagues. The concept was introduced in the country with the advent of the Premier Hockey League in 2005. It exploded into its colossal form in the shape of the IPL and eventually reached the farthest rural corners with the Pro Kabaddi League. Over the past decade, India has seen national level franchise leagues for badminton, wrestling, kho-kho, volleyball, and even arm wrestling among other sports. Such leagues have not only brought in money but have also helped unearth and nurture local talent, enhancing the overall sporting culture of the nation.

Another such league is Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) - five seasons old and boasting a niche but loyal following. On a scale ranging from the Premier Handball League to the IPL, UTT's success lies somewhere in the middle. It continues to feature players and coaches from around the world and a decent number of sponsors. However, it struggles to fill the stands in the arena even with some of the best Indian players on display.

But the question is how much has this league helped in strengthening Indian table tennis? We explored the answer in an exclusive chat with Harmeet Desai, who led the Goa Challengers to their second UTT title last week.

"Earlier there weren’t such opportunities, that we have now, of sharing the dressing room with foreign players and foreign coaches. We can get to know their ideas that we didn’t know earlier." said Desai. "We used to play with a particular mindset. Indians have a certain mindset. Each country’s players have a different mindset. So we get to learn something from everyone."

Desai believes that the exposure has helped Indian paddlers uplift their game and that it reflects in the results that India has had at the international level.

"You can see the improvement too," Desai added. "In the last seven to eight years, the rankings of the Indian players have improved. Team rankings have improved. For the first time, both men’s and women’s teams qualified for the Olympics. So, definitely, there is improvement. In the coming years, we hope that even better players come to the fore that take India even further."

Like any other franchise league, UTT has indeed helped to bring some young talent to the limelight. The recently concluded season saw debutant Nithyashree Mani topple Asian Games and Commonwealth Game medallist Sutirtha Mukherjee. Among other impressive youngsters were teenager Ankur Bhattacharjee, who won four out of his five matches, and Diya Chitale, who steamrolled some heavyweights including Manika Batra.

"A lot of youngsters are doing well in this UTT. Yashaswini (Ghorpade) is there, then there is Ankur Bhattacharjee, Nithyashree Mani. We get a breakthrough player in every (season of) UTT." said Desai. "It is very good that our bench strength is increasing."

"If you see, 15 years back people only knew about a Sharath Kamal, but today the number of players is increasing. Even before that, you had Chetan Baboor and Kamlesh Mehta. But India always only had one or two good players which wasn’t particularly good for Indian table tennis. But today, as the competition increases, our bench strength will increase. If we have 30-40 players at the same level it would be very good and India’s level (at the international stage) would automatically see a rise," he added.

This bench strength is set to be tested next month when India's men's and women's teams compete in the Asian Table Tennis Championship 2024. The tournament will be held in Kazakhstan and will commence on October 7.

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"It is gaining popularity" - Harmeet Desai believes in the potential of UTT's peculiar format

Franchise leagues often experiment with peculiar rules and distinct formats to increase audience engagement. Ultimate Table Tennis is no different. First of all, it is a mixed team tournament, meaning that each team has both male and female players.

Then, in a typical fixture between two teams, players go head to head in five matches - each of which consists of three games/sets. Even if a match is decided in the first two games, the third is played out because the eventual winner is decided by who won more games and not matches.

Harmeet Desai believes the format keeps the players on their toes throughout the fixture.

"It is a unique format. It is not played everywhere in the world," said Desai. "It is a mixed team concept. Every point is important, and every game is important. Like in cricket, there is T20, there is this format which is quite fast. You have to stay on your toes all the time."

Sometimes, experiments in franchise leagues can bring about path-breaking shifts in the sport. For instance, the change from two halves to four quarters in hockey was pioneered by the Premier Hockey League as it allowed room for more commercial breaks. Today, it has become the standard at the international level too.

Desai feels that UTT's eccentric format has that kind of potential.

"It is gaining popularity. Players from around the world are coming here. People are following it. Such concept has been tried in USA too." said Desai.

Last year, the International Table Tennis Federation organized a Mixed Team World Cup withsimilar rules. Desai believes that UTT served as the inspiration for it.

"Last year ITTF did the World team cup. They started a mixed team format. It is a pretty big deal thing that ITTF took an example from UTT and organised such a tournament." said Desai.

The Mixed Team World Cup will be held again in China in December 2024.