The top professional-level table tennis league in India, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has announced a sponsorship extension with the Indian multinational oil and gas company, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).
As part of the deal, the brand will continue to remain the league’s title sponsor for the forthcoming season, which is set to be contested at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium from August 22 to September 7.
UTT 2024 will include eight teams for the very first time. The two new franchises, Jaipur Patriots and Ahmedabad SG Pipers, will compete for the highly coveted cup along with reigning champions Goa Challengers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, U Mumba TT, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis, and PBG Bengaluru Smashers.
UTT Promoters, Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj, said, “We are delighted to have IndianOil come back as our title sponsor for UTT 2024. Having one of the largest and most trusted companies in India certainly reinsures our efforts toward growing the sport.”
IndianOil is the nation’s top-placed Energy PSU in the Fortune ‘Global 500’ rating for 2023 (rank 94), with a staggering turnover of ₹9,34,953 crores (financial year 2022-23).
As part of the partnership, IndianOil will benefit from live broadcast visibility, as well as a significant digital and on-site presence. IndianOil’s logo will also be prominently visible on courtside LED boards, court floor stickers, and on the umpire chair. Furthermore, the partnership comprises the unique branding of timeouts as “IndianOil Time Out”. In addition, each tie will have a distinctive IndianOil-branded reward, emphasising its commitment to excellence in all aspects of the sport.
Sandeep Sharma, Executive Director (Corporate Communications & Branding), IndianOil, said, “Continuing with our commitment to supporting Indian sports and nurturing talent across various disciplines, IndianOil is proud to partner with Season 5 of Ultimate Table Tennis. We are more than happy to make a meaningful contribution to the growth of table tennis in India and hope to see a thriving sporting culture in India through this association.”
The tournament structure has changed slightly this year. The teams will be split into two groups of four teams each. Throughout the league stage, each franchisee will participate in five ties, meeting all other teams in their assigned group once, as well as two randomly chosen teams from the other group as determined by a draw.
