Chinese Star Fan Siqi and World No. 13 Bernadette Szocs Lead Rising Indian Talents in UTT Season 6 Auction

New Delhi, April 12 (NationPress) Chinese athlete Fan Siqi, world no. 13 Bernadette Szocs, Olympians Aruna Quadri and Alvaro Robles, along with several promising Indian paddlers spearheaded by junior world no. 6 Ankur Bhattacharjee, will be the key highlights of the Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 player auction, scheduled for Tuesday, April 15 in Mumbai.

This year marks the first instance in UTT's history where team rosters will be formed through an innovative player auction, allowing franchises enhanced control over their recruitment and strategic planning.

Among the 56 players in the auction pool, young talents Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade - India’s leading women’s singles competitors - as well as rising star Syndrela Das and former U-17 world no. 1 Payas Jain are part of a group of 25 upcoming Indian stars under 25, competing alongside experienced athletes like two-time champion Harmeet Desai, former winners Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manika Batra, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Sreeja Akula, the WTT Contender Lagos 2024 victor. Each of the eight teams has been allocated 50 lakh virtual tokens to bid on the players, and they will also receive a one-time Right to Match (RTM) card to retain a player from the previous season by matching the final bid price.

This franchise-based league, endorsed by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the governance of the Table Tennis Federation of India, will run from May 29 to June 15 at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. Commenting on the player pool, they expressed: “The auction pool for UTT Season 6 showcases the remarkable progression of table tennis in India over the past five years. With 25 players under the age of 25 gaining entry into the pool alongside seasoned Indian and international stars, it’s evident that the next generation is stepping up. Holding the league in Ahmedabad, a city central to India’s Olympic 2036 aspirations, feels appropriate, as UTT continues to unite top-tier table tennis nationwide.”

Of the 16 foreign players participating in the UTT Season 6 auction, 12 are Olympians. Notable returns include UTT Season 2 champion Adriana Diaz and Spaniard Maria Xiao. New entrants include Britt Eerland, Dina Meshref, Zeng Jian, and Giorgia Piccolin. Lilian Bardet from France, who impressed during his debut last season, returns, while former UTT champion Tiago Apolonia and Kirill Gerassimenko bring additional experience. First-timers Kanak Jha, Ricardo Walther, and Izaac Quek join the player pool.

Meanwhile, the Indian contingent boasts emerging talents, including World Youth Championship medalists Taneesha Kotecha, Suhana Saini, and Sayali Wani, Asian Championships medallist Sarth Mishra, and rising stars like Jennifer Varghese, Abhinandh PB, and Deepit Patil, aiming to compete alongside seasoned veterans.

Players will be categorized into four base price pools: Pool A (11 lakh tokens), Pool B (7 lakh tokens), Pool C (4 lakh tokens), and Pool D (2 lakh tokens). The bidding process will follow a structured format with 10,000 token increments, ensuring a competitive and strategic selection process for teams as they assemble their lineups for UTT Season 6.

Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 Auction Pool:

Pool A (11 lakh tokens): Alvaro Robles (Spain), Kanak Jha (United States), Kirill Gerassimenko (Kazakhstan), Ricardo Walther (Germany), Quadri Aruna (Nigeria), Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Britt Eerland (Netherlands), Dina Meshref (Egypt), Fan Siqi (China), Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula.

Pool B (7 lakh tokens): Lilian Badet (France), Tiago Apolónia (Portugal), Quek Izaac (Singapore), Giorgia Piccolin (Italy), Maria Xiao (Spain), Zeng Jian (Singapore), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Swastika Ghosh, Yashaswini Ghorpade.

Pool C (4 lakh tokens): Akash Pal, Anirban Ghosh, Divyansh Srivastava, Payas Jain, Ronit Bhanja, Snehit Suravajjula, Anusha Kutumbale, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Madhurika Patkar, Reeth Rishya, Syndrela Das, Taneesha Kotecha.

Pool D (2 lakh tokens): Chinmaya Somaiya, Deepit Patil, Jeet Chandra, Mudit Dani, P.B. Abhinandh, Raegan Albuquerque, Raj Mondal, Sarth Mishra, Sourav Saha, Sudhanshu Grover, Yashansh Malik, Ananya Chande, Jennifer Varghese, Nikhat Banu, Pritha Vartikar, Sayali Wani, Selena Selvakumar, Suhana Saini, Yashini Sivashankar.