Dabang Smashers to retain TN paddler Sathiyan

Defending champion Falcons TTC also retained its faith in giant-slayer Sanil Shetty, who won many important games for it on its way to the title in the inaugural season. The RPSG Mavericks surprisingly decided against continuing with Sharath Kamal, leaving the eight-time national champion in the Player Draft pool. 

Having opted for player retention, Falcons TTC and Dabang Smashers T.T.C will be able to opt for their first player during the Player Draft to be held at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) in Mumbai on Wednesday only after the other teams have made their choices in the first round. The TN duo of Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sanil Shetty along with other top Indian table tennis stars Amalraj Anthony, Harmeet Desai, Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar will be lending star value to the draft picks with their presence.

All franchises have been given enough time to plan their strategy for the draft pick, having roped in their Indian and foreign coaches via the coach draft held earlier this month.

The Indian coaches A Muralidhara Rao (Challengers), R Rajesh (Yoddhas), Sachin Shetty (Dabang Smashers T.T.C), Arup Basak (RP-SG Mavericks), N Ravichandran (Maharashtra United) will be playing a key role in making smart choices for their respective teams. 

The Players Draft is another big step in the conduct of UTT Season 2, which will be heading to new venues with a new format this season from June 14. Pune’s Balewadi Indoor Stadium will witness the first leg from June 14-19 before heading to Delhi’s Thyagaraj stadium from June 20-25. The final leg of the tournament will be played at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium from June 26 to July 1.