UTT season 7: Five Indian players to watch out for

The seven-team competition will run until July 26, with each team playing the others once in the league stage. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals on July 24 and 25, with the final scheduled for July 26.

The UTT auction, held earlier this year, saw franchises taking more interest in Indian talents than international stars.

Here are five Indian talents to watch out for during the UTT season 7:

1. Diya Chitale – PBG Pune Jaguars

Base Price: 12,00,000 Tokens | Winning bid: 37,40,000 Tokens

Diya Chitale, one of India’s leading women paddlers, emerged as the highest-bid Indian player in the auction for the second consecutive year. With the base price of 12,00,000 tokens, Diya saw her value go more than double with a jump of 211.6 per cent.

Diya’s stock has skyrocketed thanks to her history-making partnership with Manush Shah, becoming the first-ever Indian to qualify for the prestigious WTT Finals. The duo is also ranked World No. 6 in mixed doubles.

Over the last two editions, Diya has featured in a total of 12 women’s singles matches, winning eight of them.

2. Manush Shah – U Mumba TT

Base Price: 12,00,000 Tokens | Winning bid: 37,20,000 Tokens

Manush Shah entered UTT as the second-highest valued Indian player. The 2025 season witnessed his growth graph steadily increase on the WTT circuit as he became the first-ever Indian to qualify for the prestigious WTT Finals alongside Diya in mixed doubles along with multiple podium finishes. He is also ranked World No. 5 in men’s doubles alongside Manav Thakkar.

Manush has won 9 of his 11 doubles matches, including a perfect 6-from-6 record in Season 5, making him only the third Indian player in UTT history to register the most doubles victories in a single season.

3. Syndrela Das – Dempo Goa Challengers

Base Price: 7,00,000 Tokens | Winning bid: 17,00,000 Tokens

Syndrela went unpicked in Season 6 auction. However, in this edition, Syndrela was picked with a more than double value of her base price. Still in her teens, Syndrela has steadily built a reputation as one of India’s most exciting young women’s players. Her performances against senior opposition have earned her a well-deserved main squad spot to represent Indian at the World Team Table Tennis Championships London 2026 and in the upcoming Asian Games 2026.

4. Payas Jain- Ahmedabad APL Pipers

Base Price: 7,00,000 Tokens | Winning bid: 16,80,000 Tokens

Former junior world No. 1 Payas Jain kicked off the season with two gold medals and a silver at the WTT Feeder Vadodara, before backing it up with multiple top-four finishes on the international circuit. His performances raised him to a career-high world ranking of 104, earning him a place in India’s Asian Games squad. Payas played a key role in securing team gold at the 2025 Senior National Championships while also winning men’s singles titles at the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships 2025 in Ranchi and Panchkula.

5. Divyanshi Bhowmick – Dabang Delhi T.T.C.

Base Price: 3,00,000 Tokens | Winning bid: 10,40,000 Tokens

Divyanshi Bhowmick, at 15, became the youngest player ever to be signed by a franchise and recorded the highest value surge at the auction, with her final bid increasing 246.6% above her base price. She was also the first Indian to win the Under-15 girls’ singles gold in 36 years at the 2025 Asian Junior Championships and followed it up with a bronze at the World Youth Championships. Divyanshi currently holds the World No. 1 ranking in U-17 girls’ doubles alongside Syndrela Das.

Published on Jul 08, 2026

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