NEW DELHI: Harmeet Desai, an Indian table tennis player, will begin his Paris Olympics journey on Saturday, the first day of the tournament, facing Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman in the preliminary round.
On Sunday, Manika Batra, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Sreeja Akula, India's current top-ranked player, and Achanta Sharath Kamal, a seasoned men's player, will commence their campaigns, reported PTI.
Harmeet, a 31-year-old from Surat, Gujarat, has been a part of the Indian teams that won consecutive gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and Birmingham, respectively. He also secured a men's team bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
As Abo Yaman is not ranked within the top 500, Harmeet, who is among the world's top 100 players, is expected to have a comfortable opening match.
Manika, who clinched gold at the Commonwealth Games, is set to face Anna Hursey from Great Britain in the first round of the women's singles event. In the men's singles, Sharath Kamal will go head-to-head with Slovenia's Deni Kozul.
Sreeja, the 25-year-old rising star seeded 16th in the tournament, will commence her journey against Christina Kallberg of Sweden on July 28. The stage is set for these Indian paddlers to showcase their skills and make their mark on the international arena.
Manika, seeded 18th at the Games, made history at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by becoming the first Indian women's table tennis player to reach the round of 32 in singles.
Sharath Kamal, a Commonwealth Games champion, is leading the six-member Indian table tennis team. The 41-year-old aims to end his fifth Olympic appearance on a high note. Manika will be participating in her third consecutive Games.
Recently, Manika achieved her career-best ranking of world No. 24 after an impressive performance at the Saudi Smash.
Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, who was part of India's gold medal-winning men's teams at both the 2018 and 2022 CWG, was not selected for the main squad and will serve as a reserve player.
In the women's team event, which starts on August 5, India, seeded 11th, will face fourth-seeded Romania in their opening match. The winners will progress to the quarterfinals.
Archana Kamath will join Manika and Sreeja in the women's team event, while Ayhika Mukherjee will be the reserve player.
The Indian men's team, consisting of Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, and national champion Harmeet, will face a challenging opening round against top-ranked China.
The Paris Games will be the first time India participates in the team event at the Olympics, as the men's and women's team events in table tennis were introduced at the 2008 Beijing Games.
