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Manika, who is seeded 18th at the Paris Games, had become the first women’s table tennis player from India to make it to the round of 32 in singles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. read more
 "Manika Batra vs Anna Hursey in singles; Sharath Kamal faces Deni Kozul")
File image of ace Indian paddler Manika Batra. Reuters
India’s Paris Olympics 2024 flag bearer and legendary table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal will face Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the men’s singles opening round on 27 July, while Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra will take on Great Britain’s Anna Hursey, as per the draws announced on Wednesday,
Manika, who is seeded 18th at the Games, had become the first women’s table tennis player from India to make it to the round of 32 in singles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
In other opening round matches, Harmeet Desai will take on Abo Yaman of Jordan in men’s singles, while 25-year-old Sreeja Akula, seeded 16th, will open her campaign against Swedish player Christina Kallberg.
Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal is spearheading a six-member Indian table tennis contingent with the 41-year-old all set to make his fifth appearance at the Olympics. Manika, on the other hand, will play at her third successive Games.
Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, a member of India’s gold medal-winning men’s teams at both the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and Birmingham respectively, could not make it to the main squad and has been selected as a reserve player.
Manika had recently touched a career-best ranking of world No. 24 following her superb run in the Saudi Smash.
In the women’s team event, 11th-seeded India will open their campaign against fourth seeds Romania.
Besides Manika and Sreeja, the third member of the team women’s team event is Archana Kamath. Ayhika Mukherjee is the reserve player in the category. The winning team will enter the quarter-finals straightaway.
The Indian men’s team comprising Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar and national champion Harmeet, will have a trial by fire as they will face top-ranked China in the opening round.
The Paris Games will mark the first time that India will compete in the team event at the Olympics. The men’s and women’s team events in table tennis were introduced at 2008 Beijing Games.
Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis draws for Indian players:
Men’s team - Round of 16: India vs China
Women’s team - Round of 16: India vs Romania
Men’s singles
Preliminary round: Harmeet Desai vs Zaid Abo Yaman (Jordan)
Round of 64: Sharath Kamal vs Deni Kozul (Slovenia)
Women’s singles
Round of 64: Manika Batra vs Anna Hursey (Great Britain)
Round of 64: Sreeja Akula vs Christina Kallberg (Sweden)
With PTI inputs
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English (US) ·