The absence of toppaddlers like Manav Thakkar and Sreeja Akula from the second UTT NationalRanking Table Tennis Championships, starting tomorrow at the Thyagraj Stadium,has done little to dim the spotlight on the event.
If anything, the scale ofparticipation—close to 3,000 entries across 12 categories—signals the growingdepth and competitive hunger within Indian table tennis. The figure surpassesthe 2,587 entries in the season opener at Vadodara, reflecting the sport’sexpanding base.
The championships willopen with the men’s and women’s singles, where defending champions Manush Shah(RBI) and Anusha Kutumbale (Railways) from the first event will look to extendtheir winning form. For Manav, the country’s only men’s player inside theworld’s top 50 (currently ranked 42), injury recovery takes priority ahead ofnext month’s Asian Table Tennis Championships (ATTC) in Bhubaneswar, like it isfor Sreeja, the only woman player among the top 50 WR, who has opted out toprepare for the continental challenge. Their absence, however, presents an openfield—an opportunity for rising names to make a mark.
Manush, fresh from hisnational crown, faces renewed tests from in-form rivals, including localfavourite Payas Jain, who came agonisingly close at the national championshipsand, notwithstanding his semifinal loss at Vadodara, will now have the backingof home support. And, there are Sudhanshu Grover and Yashansh Malik, who havethe wherewithal to beat the best in business on a given day.
Among women, Anusha’slong-overdue victory at Vadodara has set the stage for a potential repeat.However, Diya Chitale and runner-up Swastika Ghosh, Yashaswini Ghorpade andTaneesha Kotecha are keen to rewrite the script. G. Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai,SFR Snehit and Akash Pal also add intrigue to the men’s draw, while a new cropof Under-19 talent—Ankur Bhattacharjee, Divyansh Srivastava, P.B. Abhinand,Syndrela Das and more—promise to make inroads.
The junior sections (U-17,U-15, U-13, U-11) will once again showcase the sport’s grassroots strength,with a steady spurt of youngsters proving their mettle and tightening thecompetition across age groups.
The tournament will beconducted under the stewardship of Competition Manager N. Ganeshan, withreferee K.R. Manjunatha supported by Mangesh Mopkar and veteran A.S. Kler,along with a team of 60 experienced officials. Matches are scheduled on 25 StagGlobal tables, featuring Stag balls and professional flooring, to ensure top-qualityplay.
The overwhelming number ofentries has created a formidable logistical challenge for the competitiondepartment. Matches now often stretch well beyond 10 p.m., straining bothorganisers and players. To ease scheduling pressures and accommodate participantsheaded to the WTT Youth Contender Skopje 2025 in Macedonia, the senior eventshave been extended to five days.
However, this adjustmentplaces added demands on the Under-11 and Under-13 players, who must squeeze inmultiple rounds within a single day. With nine events featuring 128-playerknockout draws, and the men’s singles knockout draw expanding to 256, theintensity is undeniable—top 16 seeds must battle through seven rounds beforelifting the title.
For the Delhi State TableTennis Association, returning to the national stage after a long time, the nexteight days will be a trial of both organisational ability and endurance. Howsmoothly the championship unfolds will not only determine the players’experience but also set the tone for Delhi’s re-emergence as a credible host ofmajor table tennis events.
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