'What Matters Most Is Numbers On TV': Vita Dani Looks To Push Indigenous Talent With UTT

Last Updated:June 10, 2025, 19:58 IST

Vita Dani launched Ultimate Table Tennis inspired by her son. Now, she aims to boost TV viewership and push young Indian talent via the league.

Sports entrepreneur Vita Dani (R) during UTT. (PC: Instagram/vitadani7)

Sports entrepreneur Vita Dani had first grabbed widespread attention after she became a co-owner of the Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League alongside Abhishek Bachchan. A few years later, she delved into a new venture, table tennis, and that is how Ultimate Table Tennis was born.

Vita spoke to News18 Sports on the sidelines of UTT Ahmedabad on the birth of the league, how she sees the future of the tournament, the introduction of a side tournament featuring U15 stars and how UTT is looking to fuel TV viewership. Excerpts:

How did bringing in an indigenous league for table tennis come about?

My journey started with my home. My son, Mudit, inspired us to get involved with table tennis. That is where the seed was sown to do something for the country in this sport.

When and why did you feel that the U15 kids could also be included in the league format?

We as a country have one of the youngest populations in the world, and we have to capitalise on this demographic. We say that children and youth are the future of our country. For any sport to produce champions, one has to start young. While UTT was a top-down program, what we thought would matter was the bottom-up approach.

There is this young talent that is flourishing, and if we can support that strata, then I think it is the right strategy because they will make us proud. We will systematically try and see how we can support the youngsters, and they will do well at the global level.

The first five seasons had player drafts. Why was the auction introduced ahead of this season?

Every sport that has a league wants to have an auction to make it exciting. It is also good for players’ self-esteem, I feel, although it can be cruel at times. So we decided on tokenisation since we are still nascent in this ecosystem. It not only created excitement, but it also helped in strategising the teams.

It also made the event more TV-friendly and great for the viewership.

How are you looking to increase viewership for UTT besides including the auction?

One strategy was definitely to involve the juniors. If I get a child to play, not just he/she but their parents, grandparents and friends, everyone will come. It will increase a lot of viewership. That is what makes it exciting. We want to make sure that the youth feel it is aspirational.

Everybody likes to be seen on TV and social media, and why not when they are doing something good? We like to make it exciting like this. Over the past six years, social media and viewership have systematically grown. The popularity of the sport has not just grown in India but also outside.

The interest of people to collaborate has also come from different parts of the world. It’s just a combination of several things that have come together and what matters the most is the numbers on TV. So we will do whatever it takes to ensure that we achieve those numbers.

As a co-owner and someone who has been connected with the sport for a lot of years now, where do you see UTT five years from now?

For me, the dream is to see India win an Olympic gold medal in table tennis. Mr Bajaj (Niraj Bajaj, former player) also has the same vision. This time, the performance was so good and we were close to medals. So, I won’t be dejected and would rather look forward to what else can be done to push for the medal.

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News sports 'What Matters Most Is Numbers On TV': Vita Dani Looks To Push Indigenous Talent With UTT