All about the Indian table tennis contingent participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics

Hyderabad: The Indian contingent is all set for the Paris Games with 117 athletes representing the country in 16 sports. The contingent includes athletes like PV Sindhu or Neeraj Chopra who have already won medals at the Olympics. Such players will be looking to continue their legacy with more medals while others will be looking to add an illustrious feat to their careers by winning an Olympic medal in their respective sports.

India will enter the Games with six paddlers and two travelling reserves. They will also participate in the team event of the sport for the first time in Olympic history.

Sharath Kamal

India's veteran paddler Achantha Sharath Kamal will be the flag bearer for the country at the Paris Games. He has competed in four editions and this is his fifth time representing the country at the Olympics in the French capital. World No. 40 has a winning percentage of 54 this year, which is a good sign.

His best performance this year came in Singapore Smash, when he reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. However, he failed to make it into the top four of any of the tournaments, where top players compete against each other and a medal is unlikely for him, but the paddler wants to punch above his weight to play what is likely to be his last Olympic Games with a medal.

Harmeet Desai

Ranked 86th in the world, Harmeet is another paddler who will be representing India in the men’s singles. However, he has not been good this year with several round 16 finishes but his best performance came in WTT Feeder Varazadin when he reached the quarterfinals. Since the best table tennis players in the world will be competing in Paris and Harmeet’s performances in top tournaments have been average, a round 16 finish would be enough for him.

Beads silver

A quarterfinal in the Saudi Smash was Manika's best finish, but the world number 28 is fairly common in other tournaments. Manika will be competing in her third Olympics. She made her debut in Rio in 2016, but was eliminated in the preliminary round. However, she put in a solid run in the 2016 edition and reached the round of 32, becoming the first female table tennis player from the country to do so.

Expectations are not high, but Manika may be hoping for a round of 32 or a place before the quarter-finals in the next edition.

Sreeja Akula

Sreejas’ rise on the blocks has been nothing short of remarkable. Not only has she surpassed her compatriot Manika in the rankings, she has also produced some sensational performances this year. The world number 25 has a winning percentage of 66 this year and has also won WTT Feeder Bairut II, WTT Feeder Corpus Christi and WTT Contender Lagos. The paddler has produced some impressive performances this year and her form has been sensational.

Shreeja starts the tournament as an underdog but if she puts her best foot forward she might just edge closer to the bronze medal or at least a place in the quarter-finals given her form this year.

The Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams created history by securing India’s first Olympic berth in the team events. In the team table tennis championships played this year, the men’s team was defeated 3-0 by the Korean team. The women’s team was defeated by Chinese Taipei in the round of 16. With Asian giants like China and Korea competing in the Olympics, it will be quite tough for the team to win a medal.

• India's Past Performance

India took up table tennis in 1988 when the sport made its debut. But they have struggled to break into the big stage. Kamlesh Mehta was good in 1988 and 1992 but his performances were not good enough to see him through the group stage. In 1988 he won four matches and lost three, while four years later he won two matches and lost one. It was a disappointing run for India after that but in the previous edition in Tokyo, Manika and Sharath reached the round of 32. This time too, India’s chances of winning a medal seem slim.

Table tennis is derived from Lawn Tennis. It was played by upper-class English families as an after-dinner pastime using whatever paraphernalia they could find for the pastime. Books were placed on the table to serve as a net, while the lids of cigar boxes were used as rackets. A rounded cork from a champagne bottle was used as a ball. The equipment evolved and competitions were held in London and Berlin in 1926. In the same year, the first World Championships were held in London. The sport, which is immensely popular in Asia, is played by about 40 million people worldwide.

The 1988 Seoul Games were the first time the sport was introduced in the Olympic Games, with both singles and doubles events for men and women. The doubles event was replaced by the team event in 2008. 12 years later, mixed doubles was added to the Olympic program, bringing the number of events to five.

The sport is dominated by Chinese players; the country has won 60 medals in the sport.

Singles matches are played in best-of-seven formats with the first player to reach 11 points winning each set. Team events consist of four singles and one doubles match, each played in a best-of-five format. Each team has three players on their team.

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