World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024: India's Paris Olympics quota hopes dashed by South Korea, Chinese Taipei

Both Indian men’s team and women team were knocked out from the round of 16 stage.

India’s table tennis teams failed to secure a direct qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024 after losing to South Korea and Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals of the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Busan, South Korea on Wednesday

The Indian men’s team, which had earlier defeated Kazakhstan 3-2 in a nail-biting round of 16 match, could not match the level of the hosts, who swept them 3-0 in a one-sided affair.

Harmeet Desai, who had played a crucial role in India’s comeback against Kazakhstan, faced Jang Woojin in the opening match of the tie. Desai put up a spirited fight, but could not convert his game points in the first two sets, losing them 10-12 and 11-13. Woojin then sealed the deal with a 11-7 win in the third set.

The second match saw India’s veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal take on Lim Jonghoon. Kamal, former Asian Games medalist gave a tough challenge to Lim in the first set but lost it 9-11. Lim then dominated the second set 11-5, before Kamal bounced back to win the third set 11-8. However, Lim proved too strong in the fourth set, winning it 11-4 and giving South Korea a 2-0 lead.

India’s hopes now rested on Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who faced Lee Sang Su. Gnanasekaran, won his match against Kazakhstan, could not find his rhythm against Lee, who outplayed him in straight sets 11-5, 11-8, 11-2. Lee’s victory confirmed South Korea’s place in the Quarterfinals, while India’s dream of a direct qualification was shattered.

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The Indian women’s team also suffered a similar fate, losing 1-3 to Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals. Manika Batra, who had won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018, gave India a positive start by beating Chen Szu-Yu 3-2 in a thrilling match. Batra won the first set 11-8, but lost the next two sets 8-11 and 4-11. She then staged a remarkable comeback, winning the fourth set 11-9 and the fifth set 11-9, to give India a 1-0 lead.

However, Chinese Taipei leveled the score with Chen I-Ching, the world number eight, defeating Sreeja Akula 3-0 in the second match. Chen won the sets 11-6, 11-9, 11-5, without giving much chance to Akula.

Chinese taipei sealed the tie which saw Chen I-Ching return to face Manika Batra, who had to win to keep India alive. But Chinese Counterpart proved too strong as she sealed the tie 3-1 and sent India packing.

India’s table tennis teams will now have to rely on their world rankings to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. The top nine teams in the world rankings, excluding the already qualified teams, will get a berth in the Olympics.

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