Veterans Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra to lead Indian challenge for Paris Olympics 2024

Published at :May 16, 2024 at 10:50 PM

Modified at :August 22, 2024 at 1:10 PM

(Courtesy : IOS Sports and Entertainment)

Sharath Kamal is poised to make his fifth Olympic appearance.

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) on Thursday announced the six-member Indian contingent for the table tennis events at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. Veteran paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal and World No. 24 Manika Batra will lead the men’s and women’s teams respectively.

This will be a historic outing for Indian table tennis, as it marks the first time the country will field teams in both the men’s and women’s team events at the Olympics. The team events were introduced to the Olympic program from the 2008 Beijing Games.

41-year-old Sharath Kamal, currently ranked 40th in the world, is set for a record fifth Olympic appearance. He will be joined by Harmeet Desai (World No. 63) and Manav Thakkar (World No. 62) in the men’s team event. G Sathiyan, a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, missed out on the main squad but has been named as the reserve player.

For the singles events, Sharath and Harmeet will represent India in the men’s category. On the women’s side, apart from Manika, the team comprises Sreeja Akula (World No. 41) and Archana Kamath (World No. 103). Ayhika Mukherjee has been picked as the reserve player.

In the women’s singles, Manika and Sreeja have secured the two qualifying spots for India based on their world rankings.

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The contingent was picked by the TTFI senior selection committee based solely on the latest world rankings, as per the criteria announced earlier. This was a straightforward process for all but the third spot in the women’s team, for which Archana Kamath edged out Ayhika after evaluation on various parameters.

Also read: Manika Batra becomes India’s no 1 table tennis player

Massimo Costantini of Italy, who will take over as the Indian team’s coach next week, was present as a special invitee for the selections.

Indian table tennis has been on an upswing in recent years, with the likes of Sharath, Manika, Sathiyan and the men’s team achieving remarkable success at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

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