UTT league to be held in Pune, Delhi, Kolkata

The second edition of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) will be held in Pune, Delhi and Kolkata, it was announced on Wednesday.

The decision was in line with the sport's national federation TTFI and the league's promoter 11Sports' vision to take table tennis to different cities every year and steadily popularise it across the country, according to a release.

The six-team 18-day event that attracts some of the world's best players has upped the stakes by offering a total purse of Rs 3 crore, with the champions taking home Rs 1 crore, the runners-up Rs 75 lakh and the two losing semifinalists Rs 50 lakh each. The remaining Rs 25 lakh will be given to the top individual performers.

The CEAT UTT will begin on June 14 at the Balewadi Indoor Stadium in Pune before moving to Delhi's Thyagaraj stadium on June 20 for the second leg; the bandwagon will then shift to Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium on June 26, where the final will also be held on July 1. The inaugural edition had been held in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.

Speaking on the new venues, TTFI Secretary General MP Singh said: "We are excited to take CEAT UTT to new cities where the fans can enjoy the game at its highest level.

In all, the UTT will have 15 league ties, with each tie played on a seven (as opposed to nine in the inaugural edition) individual match basis.

Each individual match will consist of three games on a race to 11, with each game winner being awarded one point.

Each league tie will thus have 21 points to play for; the four franchisees with the highest points in the league stage will advance to the semi-finals.

--IANS

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