'UTT league will benefit the sport of table tennis in India'

World men's No.7 Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong believes that the Ultimate Table Tennis league, which will begin from July 13, will benefit the sport in India.

Speaking about the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis where he will turn up for the Maharashtra United, Wong Chun Ting said, "The Professional league will attract and bring world class players to India. This will benefit the sport of table tennis in India. I believe it will bring advanced training methods and other technical aspects too which will benefit Indian players in the long run."

Ting, a bronze medalist at the recently concluded World Championship in Dusseldorf, will be visiting India for the first time.

"I am very excited about my first trip to India for the UTT. I expect there will be top-class competitions with many top players from other countries,”  Ting, who lives in Hong Kong, was quoted as saying.

He is the highest ranked player at the inaugural UTT scheduled to begin in Chennai on July 13.

"Joining

the Hang Seng Table Tennis Academy was a critical point of my career in table tennis. Even though it was tough as I had to travel a long way to the training centre after school, I was really looking forward to each session of training," said the paddler who took up TT as a full-time career after completing his secondary school at the age of 18.

While he completed ninth in the men's singles at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the Hong Kong player has had a memorable start in 2017 and won the mixed doubles bronze along with his compatriot Doo Hoi Kem at the World Championship which he calls, 'a highlight of his career'.

"This experience has amply impacted my career in table tennis. This year my target is to get a place at the World Tour Grand Finals in December. I want to advance my world ranking further,” said an optimistic Ting.

He will team up with Harmeet Desai, Ronit Bhanja, Joao Monteiro, Krittwika Sinha Roy, Pooja Sahasrabudhe, Liu Jia and Fu Yu in the Maharashtra United squad.