For the first time, India will have their men's and women's table tennis teams competing at the Olympics. The Indian teams on Monday secured qualification into the Paris Olympics based on their world rankings.
The development comes after the conclusion of the World Team Championships Finals in Busan last month. The event served as the qualification path for the Games. The Indian teams failed to directly qualify for the Paris Games in that event as they did not meet the requisite of playing the quarterfinals and were knocked out in the pre-quarters.
However, they did enough to qualify through rankings. The top 16 teams secured the Olympics spot and as per the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings, the men's team was ranked 15th, while the women's side was at 13th.
"It is a very big achievement. It’s been a long process. A big thanks to the Executive Committee of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), coaches, and players who have made it happen,” Kamlesh Mehta, TTFI Secretary said after the teams secured their places at the Games.
Men's table tennis star G. Sathiyan, who was also part of the team at the event also called it a historic achievement. "It is a historic achievement. It’s a double bonanza that women have made the cut. Our first goal was to qualify and we have been working for a long time to improve our world rankings," he said.
Veteran TT star Sharath Kamal, who will be making his fifth and final appearance at the quadrennial event, credited the team for the achievement and looks forward to doing well in Paris. "It is going to be my last Olympics. We did well by maintaining the 15th spot in the rankings. Denmark, by virtue of reaching the quarterfinals, jumped from 24th spot to 10th. They made our job tough, but we held on. If we can win one big match in team events (men & women) at Paris, we can make the quarters, which will be huge," he said.
Harmeeet Desai said that he hopes to be part of the team. He helped India reach into the pre-quarters by winning the final rubber of the clash against Kazakhstan. "If all goes well, it will be my first Olympics. I hope TTFI comes up with the final list of who will make up the team, and who plays doubles (Olympics consists of one doubles and four singles) by May so that we get enough time to prepare," he said.
