File image of Virat Kohli© BCCI
The fifth edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) ended on Saturday with Goa Challengers clinching the coveted title. In the summit clash, which was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium in Chennai, Goa Challengers defeated Dabang Delhi 8-2 to retain their title. Both Both Harmeet Desai and Yangzi Liu won their respective singles matches before clinching the mixed doubles to lay the foundation for Athlead Goa Challengers' historic march to their second successive title. With this win, Goa became the first team who successfully defend their UTT title.
Despite being on a losing side, it was a great season for Dabang Delhi, especially for the likes of Sathiyan G and Diya Chitale. Diya, who is just 21-years-old, registered a big upset after defeating India's star paddler Manika Batra in the UTT 2024.
Seeing UTT as an big opportunity to grow, Diya told NDTV, "UTT has been an amazing platform for all the youngsters, especially for me. I shared the dressing room and the table with such top players, this has given me a lot of exposure. It had a great experience for me. Also from Sathiyan bhaiya, he has been an amazing captain. He always motivates us to do better, irrespective of the score or how the tie is going. He always backs me and that's what had been an important for me in the season."
The 21-year-old star also shed light on her ambition of playing the Olympics, which will now be held in the Los Angeles in 2028.
The Olympics are the dream of every athlete. I hope to win a medal at the Olympics. So, I think the training does not start now because it is a process and it started long back ago. I just want it take it step by step and keep improving with every game.
Apart from table tennis, Diya is also a vivid follower of cricket and also a die hard of star India batter Virat Kohli.
On being asked to choose her favorite among Virat, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni, Diya wasted no time in choosing the RCB.
However, instead of going for RCB as her favorite IPL team, she opted for Mumbai Indians.
"It will be Mumbai Indians as I myself is from Mumbai," said Diya.