UTT 2024 draft on July 10; WTT Contender Singles champion Sreeja Akula among the 47 players

Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT 2024) is gearing up for its much-anticipated fifth edition, set to take place from August 22 to September 7 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Before the action on the TT table begins, the franchises will prepare to snap up the top talents on offer at the UTT 2024 Draft on July 10 in Mumbai.

The draft will feature a total of 47 players, including eight international stars. Out of these, 43 will be drafted into teams.

Among the big names in the draft is Indian paddler Sreeja Akula, currently the highest-ranked Indian at 24th. Akula recently made history by becoming the first Indian to clinch a WTT Contender Singles title. Other notable Indian players in the draft include Asian Games doubles bronze medallists Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee, alongside a host of emerging talents.

International stars are also set to shine in the draft. Romania’s World No. 10 Bernadette Szocs, Nigerian star Quadri Aruna (ranked 16th), and Germany’s Nina Mittelham (ranked 17th) are among the prominent names. This will be Szocs' third appearance in the UTT, Aruna's fourth, and Mittelham's debut.

With a tremendous response from fans and stakeholders over the past four seasons, UTT 2024 will see the addition of two new franchises, making it eight teams in total for the first time.

According to the rules of the player draft, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis, who did not retain a player, along with the new teams Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers, will have the first picks. All eight teams will be active from the second round, each aiming to build a six-member squad with one foreign male and female player and two Indian male and female players.

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"Indian table tennis has witnessed a tremendous rise in the last few years" - UTT promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani

UTT has played a crucial role in the development of table tennis in India. Both the Indian men's and women's table tennis teams have secured a historic quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Sreeja Akula is part of the women's team, which also includes Manika Batra and Archana Kamath. The men's team features Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar who complete the six-member table tennis contingent for India.

“Indian table tennis has witnessed a tremendous rise in the last few years, and having five female players in the Top 100 is a reflection of that growth. The fresh new set of Indian faces in the Player Draft just shows how much table tennis has progressed in India, and we are extremely happy that the rise of UTT as a world-class league has contributed significantly to the growth of these young players. I am looking forward to these players leaving a mark on the upcoming season,” UTT promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani said in a joint statement.