UTT Season 7: Big Payday For Szocs At Auction Table, Chitale Most Pricey Home Star

Last Updated:April 30, 2026, 16:36 IST

Romanian star Bernadette Szocs was picked up by Dempo Goa Challengers for a whopping 40 L tokens, while Indian Diya Chitale went to PBG Pune Jaguars for 37.4 L tokens.

UP Prometheans made aggressive use of their auction purse at the Butterfly UTT Season 7 player draft on Tuesday, assembling a marquee doubles pairing by signing India’s Manav Thakkar—among the world’s top doubles specialists—and two-time league MVP Yangzi Liu. Reigning champion Bernadette Szocs commanded the highest bid of the day at 40 L tokens and will turn out for two-time winners Dempo Goa Challengers, while Diya Chitale, for the second year running, emerged as the most expensive Indian player, moving to PBG Pune Jaguars for 37.4 L tokens.

Chitale’s doubles partner on the international circuit, Manush Shah, went to U Mumba TT for 37.2 L tokens, strengthening a squad that had already retained Akash Pal. At 15, Divyanshi Bhowmick became the youngest player ever signed in Butterfly UTT history, joining the Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-led Dabang Delhi TTC, while 16-year-old Syndrela Das was snapped up by Dempo Goa Challengers.

The franchise-based competition, jointly promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the banner of the Table Tennis Federation of India, will be staged from July 9 to 26 at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. Matches will be streamed live on JioHotstar and televised on the Star Sports Network.

Reflecting on the auction, Mrs. Dani said: “The auction once again reflected the depth and quality that Butterfly UTT has built over the years. It was encouraging to see teams invest in emerging Indian players as a core part of their structure, ultimately reflecting the strength of a grassroots ecosystem that continues to raise the bar."

Defending champions U Mumba TT stayed quiet early on but moved decisively later, signing India’s trailblazer Manush Shah, reuniting him with Lilian Bardet, and adding Welsh talent Anna Hursey to complete their line-up. CEO Suhail Chandhok said, “Manush is one of the most exciting talents in table tennis today—a left-hander who adds strength in both singles and doubles. Anna Hursey is another exciting prospect who will be making her Butterfly UTT debut."

PBG Pune Jaguars, having chosen not to retain any players, invested heavily in Chitale and surrounded her with the experienced Snehit SFR and France’s Prithika Pavade. Mudit Dani, Omar Assar, and Sayanika Maji rounded off their squad.

Team owner Punit Balan said, “Diya is already among the best players in the world, and we’re thrilled to have her as a central part of our plans. Around her, we’ve focused on building a strong, well-rounded unit."

Dempo Goa Challengers, twice winners of the title, leaned on proven international experience for their overseas slots, bringing back Spanish star and Butterfly UTT regular Alvaro Robles, who helped them win in 2023, and complemented them with some of the finest young Indian prospects.

Outlining their approach, team owner Shrinivas Dempo said, “Having proven performers like Bernadette and Alvaro gives us experience at the top level, while bringing in young Indian players like Syndrela and Abhinandh PB adds energy and potential. It’s a combination we’re really excited about."

Season 2 champions Dabang Delhi TTC re-signed Maria Xiao, reuniting her in doubles with Sathiyan. They further strengthened the squad with Bhowmick, Asian Games medallist Sutirtha Mukherjee, Youssef Abdelaziz, and Raegan Albuquerque.

Assessing the line-up, Dabang Delhi TT CEO Prashant Mishra said, “We really wanted Maria back with us. We’re also excited to have the youngest player in Butterfly UTT, Divyanshi, in our squad. Under Sathiyan’s leadership, we believe she’ll develop into a top player."

For UP Prometheans, German star Ricardo Walther, India’s Sudhanshu Grover, and youngsters Swastika Ghosh and Sayali Wani joined Thakkar and Liu to form a balanced unit. Foreign coach Chris Pfeiffer expressed satisfaction with the outcome: “I am really happy to be a part of this auction again, and we, as a team, did a great job. We have got a really decent team together; happy that Manav, my former student, is part of the team."

Kolkata Thunder Blades relied on retained Indian prodigy Ankur Bhattacharjee at the auction table, where he played an active advisory role as the franchise assembled a solid squad featuring Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu, Taneesha Kotecha, Jeet Chandra, and Zeng Jian.

“Eduard is a good mixed doubles player. I am comfortable playing with both (Ayhika and Taneesha), and so I gave my suggestions to the team," Ankur said.

Ahmedabad APL Pipers’ major move had come before the auction, when they chose to retain Indian superstar Manika Batra. With their talisman confirmed, they built a blend of experience and youth around her. Team owner Rohan Gupta said, “Our squad was built around Manika, the moment we decided to retain her. The inputs of our coaches, along with Manika, proved invaluable towards building the squad."

Butterfly UTT Season 7 will feature seven teams in a single round-robin format, with each side playing every other team once in the league stage. The top four outfits will advance to the knockout phase.

Butterfly UTT Season 7 – Top Buys

1. Bernadette Szocs (Romania) to Dempo Goa Challengers: 40 L tokens

2. Diya Chitale (India) to PBG Pune Jaguars: 37.4 L tokens

3. Manush Shah (India) to U Mumba TT: 37.2 L tokens

4. Manav Thakkar (India) to UP Prometheans: 36 L tokens

5. Yangzi Liu (Australia) to UP Prometheans: 32 L tokens

Butterfly UTT Season 7 – Full Squads

Ahmedabad APL Pipers: Manika Batra, Adrien Rassenfosse (Belgium), Kavya Bhatt, Sanil Shetty, Sofia Polcanova (Austria), Payas Jain

Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Divyanshi Bhowmick, Maria Xiao (Spain), Youssef Abdelaziz (Egypt), Raegan Albuquerque, Sutirtha Mukherjee

Dempo Goa Challengers: Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Syndrela Das, Alvaro Robles (Spain), Divyansh Srivastava, Ananya Chande, Abhinandh PB

Kolkata Thunder Blades: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ayhika Mukherjee, Eduard Ionescu (Romania), Taneesha Kotecha, Zeng Jian (Singapore), Jeet Chandra

PBG Pune Jaguars: Diya Chitale, Prithika Pavade (France), Snehit SFR, Mudit Dani, Omar Assar (Egypt), Sayanika Maji

U Mumba TT: Manush Shah, Akash Pal, Lilian Bardet (France), Anna Hursey (Wales), Nityashree Mani, Anusha Kutumbale

UP Prometheans: Manav Thakkar, Yangzi Liu (Australia), Ricardo Walther (Germany), Sayali Wani, Sudhanshu Grover, Swastika Ghosh

News sports other-sports UTT Season 7: Big Payday For Szocs At Auction Table, Chitale Most Pricey Home Star

Read More