Table tennis in India will see a bold new step up, just a few days after the conclusion of sixth edition of its franchise based league, Ultimate Table Tennis, with World Table Tennis (the commercial subsidiary of the sports' governing body ITTF) launching WTT Event Management Pvt. Ltd. This new venture is dedicated for events in India, aimed at increasing WTT tournaments and growing the table tennis ecosystem in the country.
What will WTT Event Management do?
Currently, India hosts a WTT Star Contender, which is a fourth-tier event. The plan with this new venture, though, is to start small and build up to a major event in India. The focus will be on broadening the base with more feeder tournaments for younger players.
Steve Dainton, WTT CEO, tells ESPN that they are looking at this with a long-term lens, a 10-year-plan ahead of the 2036 Olympics (which India has expressed interest in hosting).
"We start with grassroots events, which allows more Indian players to play and gives them the exposure that they need in the beginning. But ambition is there and of course, if 2036 Olympics come into India, then it's important for us to also have major events and get more fans behind the bigger table tennis events as well."
WTT has made similar programs in other countries, including TT heavyweights China, Singapore, and more recently USA. Where they went top-down in the USA, they'll be going the other way here.
This is an interesting move from the world body, which sees India as a highly valuable market and are backing this potential with an investment of $3-5 million (Rs 26-43 Cr.) over the next few years.
How will it help Indian Table Tennis?
On board with this venture (and plan) are retired Indian TT legend Sharath Kamal (as ambassador) and Vita Dani, Chairperson of the UTT and governing board member of the ITTF Foundation. Sharath tells ESPN, "Having [WTT] Feeder tournaments in India gives a lot of chances to the up-and-coming players, those aged between 17 and 23-24 who can slowly start to make a mark in the international level."
"Many young players don't have the possibility to go abroad due to financial constraints or national entry restrictions. And the Indian ranking system and the selection process also adds a lot of weightage to the international tournaments. Here Indian players will have a lot of opportunities to make world ranking points and slowly get into the system where from the Feeder tournaments they will qualify to play the Contenders," he says.
As a long-term plan, this will benefit players who are in their teens and younger, which means India will need pathways for finding them. The task of finding the future talent is independent of WTT India, and Dani says that work is already on, through the Dani Sports Foundation.
There's an intangible aspect to it also, feels Sharath. "These tournaments at home give confidence to a young player. You are not intimidated going into these big stadiums and playing against foreign players," he says. "That is something which I personally have [experienced]."
"At the Asian championships in Lucknow in 2009, I was a match point away from beating the world No 1 in the team championships against China. Then in 2015, I beat three Top 20 players in a span of 24 hours and then at the Indian Open in 2017, played the semifinals. So you can see that those victories at home playing in the home ground gives a lot of confidence."
Why did WTT choose India?
The WTT have been considering a move in India for years now, with the Dani partnership having its origins in a Dani family vacation in Singapore in 2017, when they had met Danton to discuss the then upcoming UTT.
"[India is] the most populous country in the world, it's important for us to put a fair bit of attention on that," says Danton, who also remarks on how widely the sport is played in the country, and the ease with it can be taken up. "Our ambition is to be the second most popular sport in India."
"Table tennis is one of those sports that can be played anywhere by anyone. That fits in a heavily populated country like India," he says. "It's not easy to have too many more cricket grounds, for example, but it's easy to have many more table tennis tables. So, you know, we think it's a good fit."
WTT has similar investments in other countries across Southeast Asia and Europe, but Dainton compares Indian market to the USA. "I would say USA and India are more alike where there is an underbelly of the sport and there is an interest, but no one's brought it and taken it to the masses yet. India started its journey eight years ago with the league. USA has just started their own league two years ago."
What are the potential stumbling blocks?
The biggest comes by way of the one party conspicuously absent from the conversation, right now, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The federation has seen political and legal turmoil over elections and flouting of the National Sports Code in recent years, but the reality of sports in India remains that the national sports federation has the final say in everything from team selection to domestic tournaments.
For instance, the WTT and TTFI will have to be on the same page for the domestic events calendar - for players are forced to choose one or the other, that choice could well be dictated by TTFI's power over national team selection across age groups. Therefore, bringing them on board will be key for the new venture. ESPN has reached out to TTFI and are awaiting a response.
Another challenge to overcome is fan engagement.
Typically, sports like table tennis get major following and screen space only when a multi-sport event like the Olympics, Commonwealth or Asian Games are on. The regular WTT tour is not widely watched otherwise. Vita Dani, though, sees a positive in the rising popularity of the UTT. "If you look at season one, we did have trouble getting people to the stadium but this sixth season, it was sold out. This data is reassuring and proves that we as a country have a tremendous potential," she says.
A large part of this relies on visual content, especially on social media. The UTT has also been experimenting with formats (Golden Point at 10-10) and camera angles like slow motion to upgrade production and make TT more spectator friendly.
WTT -- who brought in a review system and the mixed team format (now included in the Olympics) -- will have to continue to innovate as Table Tennis battles for eyeballs in the crowded Indian sports market.
The plan, if it works out, would take table tennis's current status as a hugely popular recreational sport (schools, college hostels, office breakout rooms) and turn the occasional moments of international success into a production line of talent.