Busan: The Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams on Wednesday suffered defeats in their pre-quarterfinal ties at the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2024.
For the Indian women’s team, ranked 17th in the world, their journey came to an end after a hard-fought battle against world No. 4 Chinese Taipei. Despite a valiant effort from Manika Batra, who secured an early lead with a thrilling victory, the team faltered against their formidable opponents. The spirited performances from Sreeja Akula and Ayhika Mukherjee were not enough to turn the tide, ultimately culminating in a 3-1 defeat.
Chinese Taipei, ranked fourth in the world, defeated the 17th-ranked Indian women’s team 3-1 in their round of 16 match.
Similarly, the men’s team, ranked 15th globally, faced a formidable challenge against world No. 5 South Korea. Despite the best efforts of top-ranked players like Harmeet Desai and veteran Sharath Kamal, India fell short, succumbing to a clean sweep by their Korean counterparts.
India’s hopes of earning team quotas from the World Team Table Tennis Championships for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were dashed by the defeats. They would have received places to the Summer Games if they had advanced to the quarterfinals.
South Korea, ranked fifth in the world, defeated India men’s team 3-0 in the round of 16 match.
Nonetheless, Indian teams can still use the world team rankings to secure Olympic quotas. In both the men’s and women’s table tennis competitions at the Paris Olympics, there will be sixteen competing teams.
The World Team Table Tennis Championships, first held in 2000, has yet to see India clinch a medal.
(IANS)
