File photo of Manika Batra (left) and Sharath Kamal.© Twitter
The 10-member Indian table tennis squad, led by veteran Sharath Kamal and ace paddler Manika Batra, will start its campaign at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou on Friday. Table Tennis will be the focus of unmatched fervour and excitement during the Asian Games in 2023. Fans from all around Asia are eagerly anticipating the challenging matches and will be rooting for their favourite athletes. It’s going to be a phenomenon like nothing before! Table Tennis made its debut at the Asian Games in the third edition of the continental event in 1958. Since then, the sport has been featured in every edition except 1970.
The Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium will stage all the table tennis matches at the 19th Asian Games.
China is without a doubt the best team in this competition. Since the 1996 Olympics, Chinese athletes have taken home 32 of the 37 gold medals , while the rest of the world has only got 5.
India’s long wait for an Asian Games medal in table tennis ended in 2018. In Jakarta, the mixed doubles combination of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra won bronze, while the men’s team of Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manav Thakkar, and Sharath Kamal also earned bronze.
Manika, who participated in the mixed doubles event at Jakarta 2018 with Sharath Kamal, will this time partner with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. G Sathiyan will also compete in men’s singles and men’s doubles (with Sharath Kamal).
Sreeja Akula will feature in the women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles events. In Hangzhou, the 25-year-old Sreeja will partner with Harmeet Desai after winning the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Sharath Kamal. Sreeja Akula will be partnered with Diya Chitale in the women’s doubles.
Kamal, G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai head into Hangzhou 2023 after winning the men’s team bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championship 2023 in Pyeongchang.
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