India men's, women's table tennis teams set to qualify for Paris Olympics

India men’s and women’s teams suffered defeats in their respective pre-quarterfinal matches at the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2024 in Busan on Wednesday.

The losses dented India’s chances of securing team quotas for the 2024 Paris Olympics from the tournament. Advancing to the last-eight would have seen them obtain automatic berths to the Summer Games.

However, both teams have qualified for the Olympics for the first time by virtue of their world rankings, taking the last spot.

It is the first time that India will compete in the team event of an Olympics since it was introduced at the Beijing Games in 2008.

“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,” Kamlesh Mehta, Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) general secretary, said as per Indian Express.

The official rankings will come out on 4 March but the calculations indicate India have done just about enough for the spot in Paris.

At the World Team Table Tennis Championships, the men’s team, led by Sharath Kamal, were blanked 3-0 by hosts Korea. The women’s team put up a brave fight but lost 1-3 to higher-ranked Chinese Taipei.

Only 16 teams qualify for the Paris Olympics and it is fiercely contested with two wins at the Games guaranteeing a medal. The team event also ensures further two spots in the singles draws.

Among the women, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula are likely to take the singles spots. For TTFI it is going to be a difficult decision to pick between World No 67 Harmeet Desai, veteran Sharath Kamal, Gnanasekaran Sathiyan and Manav Thakkar for the two spots. Sathiyan is expected to qualify for the mixed doubles event, partnering Manika Batra.