UP Prometheans Replace Chennai Lions in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 7

UTT handed Uttar Pradesh its first franchise on Tuesday, announcing UP Prometheans as a direct replacement for Stanley's Chennai Lions in a seven-team Season 7 scheduled for Goa in July, where 24 ties of single round-robin table tennis will be streamed live on JioHotstar and broadcast on Star Sports.

The lineup is now set: reigning champions U Mumba, Ahmedabad SG Pipers, Dabang Delhi T.T.C., Dempo Goa Challengers, Kolkata Thunder Blades, PBG Pune Jaguars, and UP Prometheans, competing at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium. The field contracts from eight teams to seven compared to last season, yet the tie count actually rises by one, from 23 to 24, with the introduction of a single round-robin structure in which every side faces every other exactly once in the league phase.

The Prometheans are owned by Mukesh Sharma, founder-chairperson of Prometheus School in Noida and a BITS Pilani alumnus whose Prometheus Sports Academy has developed high-performance infrastructure across table tennis, badminton and shooting. The academy has supported elite athletes including Olympian Archana Kamath.

"I'm excited to be part of Ultimate Table Tennis, which has already set a strong benchmark over the past seasons," Sharma said. "With UP Prometheans, we look forward to raising the bar further and building a team that reflects our commitment to excellence and high-performance sport. This is another step towards strengthening India's journey to the Olympic podium."

The franchise arrives carrying multi-sport credentials: the Prometheans have already competed in PGTI's 72 The League and are set to enter the inaugural Shooting League of India, making UTT their third franchise competition. They are also confirmed for Dream UTT Juniors, a youth development initiative run by the Dream Sports Foundation in collaboration with UTT.

The announcement came one week after Jaipur Patriots, Season 6's runner-up, were axed from the league for financial non-compliance, a sequence of exits that has reduced the field from eight franchises to seven. The Chennai Lions' departure opens the door to a side rooted in India's most populous state.

"As India's largest state, UP holds immense potential for sport, and this addition strengthens our ambition of building a league that truly represents the country," said UTT CEO Ekansh Gupta. "With growing interest from stakeholders who share our vision, UTT continues to evolve both on and off the table.