Indian Table Tennis Stars Ready for Paris 2024 Olympics
Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra Lead India's Charge with High Seedings.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced the seedings for the Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis tournament, with Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra emerging as India’s highest-seeded players. The tournament, which kicks off on July 27, features a total of 67 players seeded in both men’s and women’s singles competitions, and 16 teams each in the men’s and women’s team events.
Sreeja Akula, currently ranked 16th, achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 24 last month, overtaking Manika Batra as India’s top women’s singles player. At 25 years old, Sreeja is a two-time national champion and the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title, which she clinched in Lagos this June. She also secured the doubles title in Lagos alongside Archana Kamath.
Manika Batra, ranked 18th, is seeded just two places below her compatriot. A former Commonwealth Games champion, Manika made history in May by reaching the women’s singles quarter-finals at the Saudi Smash, becoming the first Indian singles player to achieve this feat in a WTT Grand Smash event. Paris 2024 will mark her third consecutive Olympic appearance.
In the men’s singles competition, veteran Sharath Kamal is set to make his fifth Olympic appearance, seeded 24th. The 41-year-old two-time Commonwealth Games men’s singles champion reached his best Olympic finish at Tokyo 2020, making it to the third round. National champion Harmeet Desai, ranked 86th globally, is seeded 49th and will be making his Olympic debut.
India will also be making its debut in the team table tennis events at Paris 2024, with the men’s team seeded 14th and the women’s team seeded 11th. The men’s team, among the top five Asian teams, will feature Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar, while the women’s team will include Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Archana Kamath. Both team events were introduced to the Olympic programme at Beijing 2008.
All six Indian table tennis players qualified for Paris 2024 based on their world rankings. However, there is no Indian representation in the mixed doubles tournament. Table tennis events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will run from July 27 to August 10, with all matches taking place at the South Paris Arena.
