Ultimate Table Tennis 2018: Captains of six teams unveil trophy as tournament set to begin on Thursday

Pune: Captains of the six teams unveiled on Wednesday the trophy for the second edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) that will begin on 14 June. The skippers of the respective teams are Achanta Sharath Kamal (Warriors TTC), Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (Dabang Smashers TTC), Liam Pitchford (Falcons TTC), Simon Gauzy (Empowerji Challengers), Harmeet Desai (RP-SG Mavericks) and Joao Monteiro (Maharashtra United). [caption id=“attachment_4508869” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The six captains at the unveiling of the trophy. Image courtesy: Twitter @UltTableTennis[/caption] “UTT has created a platform for Indian players. I was the only undefeated player last season and it gave me the confidence to do well on the world tour,” Sathiyan said on his rise in the world rankings from 120 to 44. Pitchford believes the tournament has been equally beneficial to the foreign players. “Last season, it was helpful in dealing with the pressure situations during the World Tour events. So it not just helps Indian players but international players too,” he said. After the Pune leg, UTT will be held in Delhi from 20-25 June, before the final leg in Kolkata from 26 June to 1 July, a media release issued here said. In all, players from 19 countries, including 24 Olympians, will participate in the event. The winners will be richer by Rs 1 crore, while the runners-up will bag Rs 75 lakh. Both losing semi-finalists will get Rs 25 lakh each.