Ultimate TT league will help Indian players, says Basak

Arup Basak, the Indian coach of Maharashtra United, a team in next month's inaugural Ultimate Table Tennis League, believes that the tournament will provide much-needed foreign exposure to the host country's players.
"Ultimate Table Tennis will bring top international players to India. The Indian players have been very impressive in the recently concluded World Championship. So now Indian players will get to explore more foreign talents and play against them. They will also get an opportunity to train under foreign coaches," Basak told PTI in an interaction.
The players draft for the UTT is scheduled tomorrow at the NSCI in Worli here and Basak says Maharashtra United are keen to get the "best possible" players on board.

"We are discussing with the management and our international coach (Ferenc) Karsai. We have targeted some Indian and international players. But drafting can be challenging, so we are hoping to select best possible talent," said Basak, a multiple former national men's singles champion.
Asked how will his experience help in guiding the players, Basak said, "The players participating in the league know me very well and even I have seen all of them playing in the national and international tournaments, so we already understand each other.
"This time the players will be trained under the combination of the national and international coach which will help them rigorously".

Tournaments like the Indian Premier League and Indian Super League have helped cricketers and footballers respectively in the country and asked whether the UTT will do the same to table tennis, Basak said, "I believe that UTT will prove to be one of the best platforms for the Indian players to show how good they are in the sport."

"UTT will also help in educating the audience about the sport. Viewers will know how exciting and thrilling a table tennis game can be," said Basak.
According to him, the foreign players will help the Indian players learn new techniques, analyse moves and discuss the same with their foreign coach.

Maharashtra United have got Ferenc Karsai (Hungary) who has been the men's national coach for three countries - Austria, Canada and Belgium - and Basak as the coaches.
Meanwhile, Karsai said UTT will be a great boost for the sport and its talent.
"India has immense potential and I believe that UTT will give the platform to them to showcase that. Besides the international talent will also get to see how good Indian players are," the Hungarian remarked.