Did Ultimate Table Tennis manage to catch the eyeballs of the masses? Did it even remotely capture the imagination of the country’s sports watchers? The most likely answer to these questions IS NO.
“It was a good show.” In one short sentence, India’s chief coach Massimo Costantini summed up the inaugural Ultimate Table Tennis league.
The first-ever six-team league was aimed at helping the growth of Indian table tennis, bring the game to the living rooms of sports lovers across the country and give exposure to the home-grown champions in familiar surroundings against some quality overseas challengers.
AFTER 18 DAYS OF ACTION, spread over Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai in that order, Falcons Club won the impressive trophy that came with the winner’s share of Rs. 1 crore!
In all, equal number of men and women totalling 48 were drafted into the six squads. There was no auction, and the players were paid in keeping with their World rankings. However, there was also a case of a higher-ranked Indian paid less than his lower-ranked overseas challenger, but it was accepted without any show of dissent.
Each team also had a foreign and an Indian coach. The disparity in payments was understandable since the overseas coach, in each team, brought in a level professionalism not seen in the country before.
The composition of each eight-member squad was, two overseas male players, two overseas female players, two Indian males and two Indian females. The format saw nine matches in each tie and each match was played over three games. Each game contributed to the points tally.
The team with the highest number of games won — not matches or ties — topped the league. The same guiding principle was followed in the semifinals and final.
EVENTUALLY, IT TURNED OUT to be a mixed bag for all stakeholders. But in general, this being the first edition, the glitches were overlooked and the brighter spots became the talking point.
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