11EVEN SPORTS Pvt. Ltd (ESPL), a company formed exclusively to promote Table Tennis in India, today announced the launch of its new franchise league, ‘Ultimate Table Tennis’ (UTT) with support from Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

The inaugural season will be played from July 13 to July 30, 2017 in three different cities - Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai and will witness participation from six franchises.

UTT will feature a total of 48 world class paddlers (24 men’s players and 24 women’s players) including 24 Indians. They are set to battle it out for the ultimate championship and prize pool of USD 450000 (About INR 3 crore), making it the highest ever prize money for a table tennis event in the country.

Mr. Niraj R. Bajaj, one of the Promoter Directors of Bajaj Group, Chairman and Managing Director, Mukand Ltd., has come on Board with ESPL as a co-promoter of UTT.

His interest in UTT and vision to promote Table Tennis in India stems from his days as a three time All India Champion. An Arjuna Award recipient, he has represented India from 1970 to 1977, being captain for the last four years.

Mr. Niraj Bajaj added, "Table Tennis is close to my heart and I have been contributing to the development of the sport. With Ultimate Table Tennis I found the right platform to begin our journey in making India a medal contending nation in table tennis at the Olympics."

ESPL recently concluded India’s first ever Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open with support of TTFI in Delhi in February 2017 and with UTT it plans to take Table Tennis to a larger audience in the country.

The newest franchise based event in India, Ultimate Table Tennis, is recognised and supported by TTFI, while the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has provided a dedicated window for UTT.

In the first year it will be held in three cities. The first two legs will be held in Chennai and Delhi before the event shifts base to Mumbai for the Finale.

Each franchise will comprise eight paddlers - two Indian men players, two Indian women players, two foreign men players and two foreign women players.

Speaking on the soon to be launched event, Mrs. Vita Dani, Chairperson, ESPL, said, "We are extremely glad to move forward in promoting table tennis in India with the introduction of Ultimate Table Tennis. We received great feedback both nationally and internationally with the way India Open was organised and UTT will take the sport to greater heights with fans getting to witness 48 of the top paddlers."

ITTF President Thomas Weikert said, "ESPL recently organised Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open very productively and we received great feedback from various participating players and coaches. We wish all success to Ultimate Table Tennis and look forward to increase the reach and interest of the game in India."

Mr. Dushyant Chautala, President, TTFI, added, We are extremely proud to be associated with the Ultimate Table Tennis as it is one of the most premier events for the sport ever to be held on an annual basis in India. We thank 11EVEN SPORTS for their efforts to build Table Tennis and are sure that UTT will act as a catalyst to build everyone’s interest in the sport and get youngsters interested to play the game.