Mumbai: Desk tennis in India tends to largely be related to the metro cities, from the place an enormous chunk of the nation’s high gamers additionally come.
India’s desk tennis gamers. (UTT)
Nonetheless, tv viewership sample of final yr’s Final Desk Tennis (UTT), India’s TT league that can start its sixth season from Could 31 in Ahmedabad, threw an fascinating curveball. From the uptick within the whole watch time from 129 million minutes to 167 million minutes through the fifth season, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh contributed practically 40% by way of the regional language feed, as per TV viewership knowledge offered by the organisers.
“We started (UTT) thinking that it will only be the metros, but we realised that at any given point of time most people play TT, be it for recreational or entertainment purposes. We are happy if tier 2 and tier 3 cities get involved with the game. Many people can connect to the sport. We’ve got to capitalise on that advantage,” mentioned Vita Dani, co-promoter of UTT.
Into the sixth season after its debut in 2017 — it wasn’t held through the pandemic years — the league hasn’t fairly rocketed within the nation’s leagues ecosystem, however has taken regular strides. From six groups within the first 4 seasons, it now has eight groups with Jaipur and Ahmedabad including to franchise illustration from Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. One franchise, mentioned Dani, is already making a living and one other has damaged even.
A number of leagues throughout sports activities in India have been by way of increase and bust in fast time, notably in badminton, hockey (it was revived earlier this yr), and volleyball. Dani mentioned desk tennis’ sustainability is right down to the league’s low-cost mannequin, in addition to having centralised logistics. Each season is held at one venue, and brought to totally different cities up to now. Ahmedabad is one other experiment in “testing new geographical areas”.
“Our biggest strength as a league is that we’re a real low-cost model,” Dani mentioned. “We have tried to make it centralised to ensure that the franchises stay interested. We are very mindful of the money that we spend. It needs to be spent well, not just because somebody else is spending. More franchises have come in, which means more people see value in this property.”
The preliminary years, Dani did acknowledge, have been about testing the waters to run a league in a sport that isn’t totally mainstream but despite the fact that it’s gaining recognition with India’s rising shares in TT.
“In Season 1, we had only one sponsor. Last year, every possible property was sold out. There are different spenders — people who spend at the IPL (Indian Premier League) level, and those who spend at other levels. We are okay to be in any category, as long as there is money coming into the game,” Dani mentioned.
“I don’t think we are a unique league. Every league has evolved, be it IPL or PKL (Pro Kabaddi League). The key is to innovate.”
The sixth season, that can run from Could 31 to June 12, can have a Chinese language participant for the primary time. Fan Siqi, the ladies’s world No.35, was acquired by Chennai Lions on the public sale held final month.