UTT 2026: UP Unite Manav Thakkar, Yangzi Liu As Diya Chitale Is Top Indian Pick For Second Straight Year

UTT 2026: UP unite Manav Thakkar, Yangzi Liu as Diya Chitale is top Indian pick for second straight (Image Source: IANS)

Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor: UP Prometheans made full use of their purse, bringing together top Indian star Manav Thakkar—one of the world’s leading doubles players—and two-time league MVP Yangzi Liu in a standout combination at the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 auction held in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Reigning champion Bernadette Szocs emerged as the highest-valued player at 40 L tokens, joining two-time winners Dempo Goa Challengers, while Diya Chitale was the highest-valued Indian for the second consecutive year, moving to PBG Pune Jaguars for 37.4 L tokens.

Chitale’s international doubles partner, Manush Shah, was picked up by U Mumba TT for 37.2 L tokens, bolstering their line-up alongside the retained Akash Pal. The 15-year-old Divyanshi Bhowmick became the youngest-ever player to be signed by a Butterfly UTT team, earning a spot with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-led Dabang Delhi TTC, while Syndrela Das, 16, was secured by Dempo Goa Challengers.

The franchise-based league, co-promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India, will take place from July 9 to 26 at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. It’ll be live-streamed on JioHotstar and broadcast live on the Star Sports Network.

Commenting on the auction, Dani said: “The auction once again reflected the depth and quality that Butterfly UTT has built over the years. It was encouraging to see teams invest in emerging Indian players as a core part of their structure, ultimately reflecting the strength of a grassroots ecosystem that continues to raise the bar.”

Reigning champions U Mumba TT held back early before striking late, bringing in India’s history-maker Manush Shah, reuniting with Lilian Bardet, and adding Wales’ Anna Hursey to round out their squad.

Suhail Chandhok, U Mumba TT CEO, said, “Manush is one of the most exciting talents in table tennis today—a left-hander who adds strength in both singles and doubles. Anna Hursey is another exciting prospect who will be making her Butterfly UTT debut.”

Having opted not to retain anyone, PBG Pune Jaguars went big for Chitale and paired her with the seasoned Snehit SFR and France’s Prithika Pavade. Mudit Dani, Omar Assar, and Sayanika Maji completed the roster.

Speaking on the occasion, team owner Punit Balan said, “Diya is already among the best players in the world, and we’re thrilled to have her as a central part of our plans. Around her, we’ve focused on building a strong, well-rounded unit."

Two-time champions Dempo Goa Challengers’ auction strategy saw them go for experience in their foreign spots–with Spaniard and Butterfly UTT regular Alvaro Robles returning to the team where he won the title in 2023–and filling their Indian spots with the best emerging talents.

On the team’s strategy, Goa’s team owner Shrinivas Dempo said, "Having proven performers like Bernadette and Alvaro gives us experience at the top level, while bringing in young Indian players like Syndrela and Abhinandh PB adds energy and potential. It’s a combination we’re really excited about.”

Season 2 champions Dabang Delhi TTC brought back Maria Xiao, rekindling a strong doubles pairing with Sathiyan. They also added Bhowmick, Asian Games medalist Sutirtha Mukherjee, Youssef Abdelaziz, and Raegan Albuquerque to complete their lineup.

Dabang Delhi TT CEO Prashant Mishra, analysing his team line-up, said, “We really wanted Maria back with us. We’re also excited to have the youngest player in Butterfly UTT, Divyanshi, in our squad. Under Sathiyan’s leadership, we believe she’ll develop into a top player.”

German ace Ricardo Walther, India’s Sudhanshu Grover, and youngsters Swastika Ghosh and Sayali Wani complemented Thakkar and Liu during UP’s first outing at the auction table.

Chris Pfeiffer, UP Prometheans’ foreign coach, expressed delight at bringing in a former ward of his, “I am really happy to be a part of this auction again, and we, as a team, did a great job. We have got a really decent team together; I'm happy that Manav, my former student, is part of the team.”

Joining Kolkata Thunder Blades at the auction table, rising Indian star Ankur Bhattacharjee–retained by the team–brought a composed presence, offering key inputs as the team built a well-rounded unit featuring Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu, Taneesha Kotecha, Jeet Chandra, and Zeng Jian.

“Eduard is a good mixed doubles player. I am comfortable playing with both (Ayhika and Taneesha), and so I gave my suggestions to the team,” Ankur said.

Ahmedabad APL Pipers’ big move came ahead of the auction, when the franchise opted to retain Indian great Manika Batra. Having surrounded their spearhead with a cast both experienced and fresh, team owner Rohan Gupta said, “Our squad was built around Manika, the moment we decided to retain her. The inputs of our coaches, along with Manika, proved invaluable towards building the squad.”

UTT Season 7 will feature seven teams competing in a single round-robin format, where each team will face every other team once in the league phase. The top four teams will progress to the knockout stage.

UTT Season 7 – Full Squads

Ahmedabad APL Pipers: Manika Batra, Adrien Rassenfosse (Belgium), Kavya Bhatt, Sanil Shetty, Sofia Polcanova (Austria), Payas Jain

Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Divyanshi Bhowmick, Maria Xiao (Spain), Youssef Abdelaziz (Egypt), Raegan Albuquerque, Sutirtha Mukherjee

Dempo Goa Challengers: Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Syndrela Das, Alvaro Robles (Spain), Divyansh Srivastava, Ananya Chande, Abhinandh PB

Kolkata Thunder Blades: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu (Romania), Taneesha Kotecha, Zeng Jian (Singapore), Jeet Chandra

PBG Pune Jaguars: Diya Chitale, Prithika Pavade (France), Snehit SFR, Mudit Dani, Omar Assar (Egypt), Sayanika Maji

Kolkata Thunder Blades: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu (Romania), Taneesha Kotecha, Zeng Jian (Singapore), Jeet Chandra

UP Prometheans: Manav Thakkar, Yangzi Liu (Australia), Ricardo Walther (Germany), Sayali Wani, Sudhanshu Grover, Swastika Ghosh

Article Source: IANS