Asian Games 2023: Decoding India's table tennis contingent
Indian table tennis stars created history at the Asian Games in 2018 as they bagged their first medals at the continental event. India clinched two bronze medals in the men's team and mixed doubles. This time, they will look to eclipse that record as the likes of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra are in form. Here we look at the table tennis contingent.
Why does this story matter?
Sharath Kamal guided the men's team to the Asian Games bronze medal in the last edition before winning another bronze medal in mixed doubles where he paired up with Batra. The star duo in the presence of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will spearhead India's 13-member table tennis contingent for the 2023 Asian Games. India is a rising nation in table tennis and can do well.
Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal will look to deliver
Sharath will be in action once again and will be a medal hopeful at the continental games. The 41-year-old paddler won the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal and also bagged the bronze at the 2023 Asian Championships in Pyeongchang. He has been the stalwart for India in table tennis for nearly two decades and always seems to up his game in big events.
Manika Batra is in great form
Batra became the first Indian women's paddler to win a medal at the Asian Cup. She won bronze last year in Bangkok. The 28-year-old will spearhead the women's team and will also partner Sathiyan in the mixed doubles in this edition. The experienced paddler clinched two gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in women's singles and women's team events.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will look to step up
Sathiyan will also be a very crucial member of the team as he looks to deliver in the men's singles, doubles, and team events. He was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2023 Asian Championships in Pyeongchang. Sathiyan bagged a bronze medal in the men's team event in the 2018 Asiad and will look to do better than that in China.
A look at the other key performers
National champion Sreeja Akula paired up with Sharath in the 2022 CWG mixed doubles event and won the gold medal. She will also bring her best in singles. Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee will be India's best bet in women's doubles. Harmeet Desai and Manush Shah will be pivotal in the men's team event. Promising talent Diya Chitale will look to prove a point.
A look at the Indian table tennis contingent
Men's singles: Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Women singles: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula. Men's doubles: Sharath Kamal/Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manav Thakkar/Manush Shah Women's doubles: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale. Mixed doubles: Manika Batra/Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sreeja Akula/Harmeet Desai. Men's reserves: SFR Snehit, Sanil Shetty. Women's reserves: Archana Kamath, Reeth Rishya.
Here's the schedule for table tennis events
The 2023 Asian Games will start on September 19, but the opening ceremony is scheduled for September 23. The seven table tennis events at the continental games will start on September 22 and will continue till October 2.
