On Monday, both the men’s and women’s table tennis teams clinched their spots at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024, marking a historic achievement for the sport in the country. Despite encountering setbacks in their pre-quarterfinal matches at the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan, the Indian teams managed to secure world-ranking spots, thus earning their tickets to the Olympics.
The news has sparked jubilation among Indian sports enthusiasts, who eagerly awaited confirmation following the teams’ exit from the event. With calculators at the ready and hopes soaring, the nation anxiously awaited the outcome. The latest TT March World Team Rankings indicate that the Men’s Team holds steady at WR15, while the Women’s Team has made a significant leap to WR13.
This accomplishment not only guarantees team quotas for the Olympics but also secures two individual singles quotas for each of the men’s and women’s singles categories. In the women’s singles category, Manika Batra leads the ranking charts with an impressive win percentage, followed closely by Sreeja Akula.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Harmeet Desai has emerged as a standout player with consistent performances. However, seasoned players like Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Manav Thakkar have experienced fluctuations in form, adding intrigue to the selection process for the Olympics.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has clarified its selection policy, stating that the two highest-ranked players from the team event will be selected to compete in the singles at the Paris Olympics 2024, rather than relying solely on world ranking places.
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