Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra are representing India as the highest seeded players in the table tennis tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which is set to begin on July 27. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced the seedings on Tuesday in which Akula and Batra ranked 16th and 18th respectively.
From National Champions to Olympic Contenders
A total of 67 players are seeded in both the men's and women's singles competitions, while 16 teams each are seeded for the men's and women's team events, according to a release by Olympics.com. Sreeja Akula has reached a career-best No. 24 in the world rankings last month and has surpassed Manika Batra to become India's top women's singles player. The 25-year-old Akula is a two-time national champion who made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title at Lagos in June. Also, she secured the doubles title in partnership with Archana Kamath.
Manika Batra is the former Commonwealth Games champion and is seeded just two places below her compatriot at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In May, she made history by reaching the quarterfinals of the Saudi Smash women's singles and she became the first Indian singles player to achieve this at a WTT Grand Smash event. The Paris 2024 Olympics will be Manika's third consecutive appearance at the Games.
Veteran player Sharath Kamal is to make his fifth Olympic appearance. The two-time Commonwealth Games men's singles champion is seeded 24th at the Paris 2024 Olympics. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the 41-year-old Kamal reached the third round, marking his best finish at the Olympic Games to date.
National champion Harmeet Desai is ranked 86th in the world in men's singles and is seeded 49th and will make his Olympic debut. India will also debut in the team table tennis events at the upcoming Olympics. The four singles players will be joined by Manav Thakkar for the men's team and Archana Kamath for the women's team.
Both the men's and women's team events were first introduced to the Olympic programme at Beijing 2008. At Paris 2024, the Indian men's table tennis team is seeded 14th, making them one of the top five Asian teams. The women's team is led by Manika Batra who is seeded 11th.
All six Indian table tennis players are qualified for Paris 2024 with their world rankings. But, there will be no Indian representation in the mixed doubles tournament, as stated in the release.
The table tennis events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will take place between July 27 and August 10 at the South Paris Arena. The competitions will be men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, men's team, and women's team events, showcasing talent and skill.
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