Butterfly UTT Season 7: Dabang Delhi Take on HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades, Manika Batra Set for Ahmedabad APL Pipers Debut

Broadcast on the Star Sports network and streamed on JioHotstar, the tie will take place at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium

Goa, July 9, 2025: Former champions Dabang Delhi TTC return for their second tie in as many days when they take on HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades in the opening contest of Matchday 3 of Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 on Saturday. Later in the evening, Manika Batra will make her long-awaited Ahmedabad APL Pipers debut, who finally begin their campaign against reigning champions U Mumba TT, the latter looking to bounce back after their opening-night defeat.

Both ties will be broadcast live on Star Sports Khel (Hindi), Star Sports Tamil 2 HD, Star Sports Tamil 3 HD, and streamed on JioHotstar in Hindi, Tamil, and English.

Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Butterfly UTT continues to strengthen Indian table tennis through elite competition and year-round development initiatives. Season 7 features 42 players from around the world, including 14 Olympians, while Dream UTT Juniors continues alongside the league, providing a platform for the country's next generation of talent.

The opening tie could see two of India's finest Men’s Singles paddlers, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Ankur Bhattacharjee, square off in a marquee battle. While Delhi will once again bank on Sathiyan's experience and their proven mixed doubles pairing with Spain's Maria Xiao, Kolkata possess an equally formidable core through Ankur, Ayhika Mukherjee and the experienced overseas duo of Eduard Ionescu and Zeng Jian.

Later in the night, Indian great Manika Batra makes her much-awaited Butterfly UTT return after missing last season through injury, leading Ahmedabad APL Pipers alongside one of the league's strongest international contingents in Austria's Sofia Polcanova and Belgium's Adrien Rassenfosse. Rising Indian star Payas Jain, whose stock continues to soar, adds further firepower to an impressive line-up.

Awaiting them are reigning champions U Mumba TT, eager to respond after their opening defeat to Dempo Goa Challengers. Captain Manush Shah will take confidence from his victory in his Men’s Singles rubber over Butterfly UTT stalwart Alvaro Robles, while Wales' Anna Hursey also impressed by winning on her Butterfly UTT debut. Together with Frenchman Lilian Bardet and an experienced supporting cast, U Mumba will be determined to register their first points of the campaign.

Butterfly UTT Season 7 Schedule

July 11, 2026 | 17:00 | Dabang Delhi TTC vs HVR Kolkata ThunderBlades
July 11, 2026 | 19:30 | Ahmedabad APL Pipers vs U Mumba TT

Butterfly UTT Season 7 Teams

Dabang Delhi TTC vs HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades

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

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

Ahmedabad APL Pipers vs U Mumba TT

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

U Mumba TT: Manush Shah, Akash Pal, Lilian Bardet (France), Anna Hursey (Wales), Nityashree Mani, Anusha Kutumbale