All you need to know about Table Tennis at Commonwealth Games

Sarath Kamal and Manika Batra to lead the Indian contingent at Birmingham.

Since its inception, Table Tennis has been a popular sport among fans not only in the Commonwealth Games but also overall. The upcoming Commonwealth Games will witness some of the most remarkable Table Tennis players from around the globe. If we talk about India, Talisman paddler Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra will lead the Indian contingent in the mega event starting from July 28. India’s 10-member contingent also includes two reserve players. Players will be in action in both men’s and women’s team events as well as individual events.

History

Table Tennis first took place at the Commonwealth Games in the year 2002 in Manchester, England, and since then it has given some big names like Gao Ning, Segun Toriola, and India’s pride Sharath Kamal, to name a few. Currently, Singapore is at the top of the list when it comes to medals. They have collected 22 gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze so far. England is at the second position with an overall of 20 medals (including 7 gold medals), while India is at the third spot with the same number of medals as England, but 6 gold medals kept them below England. Wheelchair play has also been a part of the Commonwealth Games for elite athletes with a disability (EAD) since the inclusion of para-sports in 2002.

Table Tennis is not only a part of the Commonwealth Games since 2002, moreover, but it also has its own Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, which started in 1971 and are played once every two years.

Table Tennis at 2022 Commonwealth Games

The event of Table Tennis will begin with men’s and women’s team preliminary qualifying round matches. It will start on July 29 and culminate with the medal matches on August 1 and August 2. After this, the individual and doubles events will occur with the preliminary qualifying round matches, which are set to begin on August 3. The medal matches will be held on August 7 and August 8.

All the matches will be played in National Exhibition Centre, Hall 3 in Birmingham, England.

India in 2022 Commonwealth Games

Super-experienced Sharath Kamal and Khel Ratna Awardee Manika Batra will lead the Indian contingent in the much-awaited 2022 Commonwealth Games. It is not going to be easy for them to repeat the feat of the 2018 CWG Games where they scripted history because some magnificent players joined their respective groups this time. Still, the hopes for the medals are high from the Indian squad, especially from Manika Batra who became everyone’s favourite after clinching a historic gold against Singapore’s Mengyu Yu.

India has sent a 10-member team to Birmingham to participate in the Table Tennis event. Below are the men’s and women’s teams:

Men’s Table Tennis Squad

Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Manush Shah (Reserve)

Women’s Table Tennis Squad

Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Reeth Rishya, Diya Chitale, Swastika Ghosh (Reserve)

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