New Delhi, 31 March (H.S.):

Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) announced a major shake-up ahead of Season 7, with UP Prometheans taking the place of Stanley's Chennai Lions in the league.

Owned by entrepreneur and BITS Pilani alumnus Mukesh Sharma, the new team will also participate in the Dream Sports Foundation and UTT's joint 'Dream UTT Juniors' initiative to promote grassroots table tennis.

This follows the termination of Jaipur Patriots' franchise due to repeated violations of agreement terms and payment defaults; they were runners-up in the previous season. UTT CEO Ekansh Gupta called the expansion into Uttar Pradesh—a populous state—a positive step to boost the sport's reach nationwide.

Team owner Mukesh Sharma expressed excitement about building a competitive squad through UP Prometheans, aiming to elevate Indian table tennis to Olympic levels.

Season 7, featuring seven teams including defending champions U Mumba TT, Ahmedabad SG Pipers, Dabang Delhi TTC, Dempo Goa Challengers, Kolkata Thunder Blades, PBG Pune Jaguars, and UP Prometheans, will unfold in Goa in July. The round-robin format includes 24 ties—one more than the last two seasons—with each team facing others once.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar