Mumbai, Jun 3 (PTI) Four-time Olympian Elena Timina, who led Goa Challengers to victory last season, will guide the Bengaluru Smashers in the upcoming edition Ultimate Table Tennis.

Each of the eight franchises selected both a foreign and an Indian coach a the coaches draft event here on Monday.

Also Read | Indian Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin’s Autobiography 'I Have the Streets: A Kutti Cricket Story' Set To Hit Stands on June 10.

The draft saw significant selections as Ahmedabad SG Pipers opted for the experienced Francisco Santos, marking his fifth UTT participation.

Dabang Delhi TTC and Jaipur Patriots chose Indian coaches Sachin Shetty and Somnath Ghosh, respectively.

Also Read | Sri Lanka vs South Africa, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Free Live Streaming Online: How To Watch SL vs SA Cricket Match Live Telecast on TV?.

Four Indian coaches will make their UTT debut this season: Jay Modak with Ahmedabad SG Pipers, Anshuman Roy with Bengaluru Smashers, former national champion Subhajit Saha with Goa Challengers, and Subin Kumar with Chennai Lions.

Dabang Delhi TTC reunited the successful combination of Shetty and Slovenian coach Vesna Ojstersek, aiming to improve on their 2019 runner-up finish.

Other notable appointments include U Mumba picking John Murphy, the current England team head coach, while retaining Anshul Garg.

Goa Challengers selected Hungarian women's team coach Zoltan Bartofi, and Chennai Lions will be guided by Tobias Bergman, head coach of the Swedish National team.

The upcoming season is scheduled to be played in Chennai from August 22 to September 7. The league has been expanded to eight teams.

Teams and coaches (in the order of selection):

Bengaluru Smashers: Elena Timina (Netherlands), Anshuman Roy

Ahmedabad SG Pipers: Francisco Santos (Portugal), Jay Modak

Dabang Delhi TTC: Sachin Shetty, Vesna Ojstersek (Slovenia)

U Mumba TT: John Murphy (Ireland), Anshul Garg

Goa Challengers: Zoltan Batorfi (Hungary), Subhajit Saha

Puneri Paltan Table Tennis: Jorg Bitzigeio (Germany), Parag Agarwal

Jaipur Patriots: Somnath Ghosh, Ronald Redep (Croatia)

Chennai Lions: Tobias Bergman (Sweden), Subin Kumar.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)