A. Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra will face Chinese Taipei’s third-seeded pair of Lin Yin Ju and Cheng-I Ching in the mixed doubles first round of the Tokyo Olympics table tennis competition on July 24.
In the men’s singles, after an opening round bye, Sharath will play the winner of the match between Tiago Apolonia (Portugal) and Olajide Omotayo (Nigeria). A victory for Sharath will set up a clash with China’s Ma Long, the current Olympic and World champion.
Similarly, following a first-round bye, G. Sathiyan will meet the winner of the clash involving Brian Afanador (Puerto Rico) and Lam Siu Hang (Hong Kong). A win for Sathiyan will bring him face to face with the Japanese favourite Tomokazo Harimoto.
In women’s singles first round, Manika is due to clash with Great Britain’s Ho Tin Tin and the winner faces Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska.
Sutirtha Mukherjee will take on Sweden’s Linda Bergstrom. Should the Indian cause an upset, she will be up against Portugal’s Yu Fu.
