59 State and National Paddlers Participate in GSL Season 2 Players’ Auction

Ahmedabad Hosts High-Stakes Auction as 59 Top Paddlers Gear Up for Gujarat Super League Season 2

Top Players Retained: India’s top-ranked paddlers, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar, have been retained by their respective teams, while other notable players like Sutirtha Mukherjee, Poymantee Baisya, and Sanil Shetty participated in the auction.

Expanded Participation: Six teams, including last season’s winners and runners-up, competed in the auction with a budget of ₹3,20,000 each, showcasing the growing interest and scale of the Gujarat Super League (GSL) Table Tennis Season 2.

BILKULONLINE

Ahmedabad, July 5: A total of 59 state and national paddlers were up for bidding at the players’ auction for the Gujarat Super League (GSL) Table Tennis Season 2, held at Topspin Club in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Initiated by the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA), the first season of GSL took place at Transstadia, Ahmedabad, in August 2022. This year, GSL Season 2 will be held in Surat.

India’s top-ranked paddlers, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar (both from Surat), were retained by their respective teams from last season. India’s No. 3, Manush Shah from Vadodara, and state No. 1 women’s paddler, Krittiwika Sinha Roy from Surat, were among the auction participants.

Notable paddlers such as Asian Games medallist Sutirtha Mukherjee, reigning women’s National Champion Poymantee Baisya, and CWG gold medallist Sanil Shetty were the star players in Friday’s auction.

Six teams participated in the auction, each with a budget of ₹3,20,000. The teams are:

Tapti Tigers (Season 1 winners)

Shamal Squad (Season 1 runners-up)

Bhayani Stars

Kataria Kings

Multimet Marvels

Topnotch Achievers

Kushal Sangtani, Secretary of GSTTA, said, “After the successful completion of Season 1, I am excited to witness the Season 2 auction. Top players, including two Olympians, Harmeet and Manav, are part of the league. The continued interest from team owners is very encouraging.”

Kantibhai Bhuva, Chairman of the GSL TT governing council, remarked, “GSL Season 2 will be bigger and better than Season 1. Our goal is to unite players on one platform, motivating and encouraging them to perform at their best. This event offers state and national players an excellent opportunity for exposure, providing them with firsthand experience and interaction with international players of repute.”

Each team’s composition will be:

National Player (Male)

National Player (Female)

State Player (Male)

State Player (Female)

Veteran Player

National Coach

State Coach

Retained Players/Coaches:

Kataria Kings:

National Coach: Anshul Garg

State Coach: Nilay Vyas

State Player (Male): Soham Bhattacharya

Bhayani Stars:

State Coach: Vahed Malubhai

Tapti Tigers:

National Coach: Ravi Chandran

State Coach: Hraday Desai

State Player (Female): Filzah Fatema Kadri

TopNotch Achievers:

National Coach: Anol Kashyap

State Coach: Sailesh Gosai

State Player (Male): Chitrax Bhatt

Multimet Marvels:

State Coach: Mihir Gandhi

National Player: Harmeet Desai

Shamal Squad:

National Coach: Parag Agarwal

National Player (Male): Manav Thakkar