World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024: India reach pre-quarters, one win away from securing Paris Olympics berths

Pre-Quarters are scheduled for later today.

The Indian table tennis teams have put up a stellar performance at the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024, which is currently underway in Busan, South Korea. Both the men’s and women’s teams have reached the knock-out stages of the tournament and are in contention for securing Olympic quotas for the Paris 2024 Games.

The Indian women’s team, led by Tokyo Olympian Manika Batra, breezed past Italy 3-0 in the round of 32 on Wednesday. Batra won her singles match against Giorgia Piccolin 3-0, while Sreeja Akula also triumphed in straight sets over Stefanova Nikoleta. Ayhika Mukherjee, who has been in superb form in the team event, clinched the tie with a 3-1 victory over Gaia Monafardini.

The Indian women’s team will now face a formidable opponent in Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals, which is scheduled for later today at 1.30 p.m. IST. The winner of this match will not only advance to the quarterfinals but also secure a spot in the team event at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Chinese Taipei will pose a tough challenge for the Indian women. However, the Indian team will hope to repeat their performance from the 2018 Asian Games, where they had stunned Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the round of 16.

On the other hand, the Indian men’s team, comprising Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai, also made it to the round of 16 with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The Indian men had to overcome some tense moments in the match, as they trailed 1-0 after the first singles. Harmeet Desai lost to Kirill Gerassimenko, while Sharath Kamal beat Alan Kurmangaliyev. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran then gave India the lead with a win over Aidos Kenzhigulov.

However, the Indian men had a scare when Sharath Kamal, the most experienced player in the team, lost to Gerassimenko in the fourth singles. But Desai came good with a 3-1 win over Kurmangaliyev and sealed the deal for India as they defeated Kazakhstan 3-2.

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The Indian men’s team will now face host South Korea in the round of 16, which will be played later today at 4:30 PM. IST. The winner of this match will also book a place in the quarterfinals and the Olympic team event. South Korea will have the home advantage and the support of the crowd. But The Indian team will bank on their star players Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to lead them to victory.

The World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024 is a crucial tournament for the Indian table tennis teams, as it offers eight Olympic team quotas in both the men’s and women’s events. The Indian teams have not yet secured their berths for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and this is their last chance to do so.

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