Despite facing defeats in their pre-quarterfinal matches at the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan, the Indian men’s and women’s teams are set to make history by qualifying for the Olympics for the first time ever in the team event.
In a nail-biting competition, the Indian men’s team, led by the 10-time national champion Sharath Kamal, suffered a 3-0 loss against the formidable host team, Korea. On the women’s side, despite a courageous effort, the Indian team lost 1-3 to the higher-ranked Chinese Taipei, featuring World No.10 Cheng I-Ching and World No.41 Szu-Yu Chen.
This marks India’s return to the team event in table tennis at the Olympics since its inclusion in the Beijing 2008 Games. The official announcement of the team rankings is scheduled for March 4, but preliminary calculations indicate that both Indian teams have secured the last world ranking spot, ensuring their qualification for the Paris Olympics.
Kamlesh Mehta, General Secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India, expressed pride in the teams’ performance, stating, “The men’s and the women’s teams played very well, and we’re proud of them. We’re waiting for the official announcement that we have qualified for the Paris Olympics, which will come on the 5th of March.”
Despite the pre-quarterfinal losses, players and officials are optimistic about India’s historic qualification. Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, a top Indian men’s player, remarked, “The entire team is very excited. We were looking forward to this day for a very long time. We’re extremely happy that we’ve made the cut for the Olympics, though we have to wait for the quota to be confirmed officially. It’s truly a fantastic team effort by everyone.”
With only 16 teams qualifying for the Olympics, the competition is fierce, as two wins at the Games guarantee a medal. Additionally, qualification for the team event also secures two guaranteed singles entries for the Olympics.
While Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula would’ve qualified among the women based on rankings, the men’s team faces a tough decision. The Table Tennis Federation of India will decide between World No.67 Harmeet Desai, veteran Sharath Kamal, Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, and Manav Thakkar for the two men’s singles spots. Sathiyan is also expected to qualify for the mixed doubles event, partnering with Manika Batra.
Sharath Kamal, a veteran who has represented India at four Olympic Games, expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing in a team event at the Olympics. “To be playing in a team event at the Olympics would be a dream come true. The camaraderie we share with each other and the way we have helped each other over so many years is just amazing,” he said. In the opening round of the tournament, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula made headlines by defeating Chinese World No.1 Sun Yingsha and World No.2 Wang Yidi, stunning the table tennis world.
