Indian table tennis teams qualify for Paris Olympics, create history
In spite of facing defeat in their pre-quarterfinals at the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan on Wednesday, both the Indian men’s and women’s teams are poised to secure their first-ever Olympic qualification by clinching the final qualifying spots for the 2024 Paris Olympics based on their world rankings.
The men’s and women’s team events in table tennis were introduced at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
While the official team rankings will be announced on March 4, initial calculations suggest that both Indian teams have met the criteria for securing spots in Paris.
In the men’s division, the team, captained by 10-time national champion Achanta Sharath Kamal, suffered were blanked 0-3 by the formidable host, South Korea.
The women’s team exhibited bravery but ultimately fell short, losing 1-3 against the higher-ranked Chinese Taipei, featuring players like world number 10 Cheng I-Ching and world number 41 Szu-Yu Chen.
As for the singles events at the Paris Games, while Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula would have secured spots courtesy their world rankings, the men’s team’s performance at the world championships has presented the Table Tennis Federation of India with a pleasant dilemma. The toss-up for the two spots is between world number 67 Harmeet Desai, the experienced Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Manav Thakkar. Furthermore, Sathiyan is expected to qualify for the mixed doubles event too, partnering Manika Batra.
