Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis draw: Manika Batra to play teenager Anna Hursey; Indian men’s team to face China in opener
Indian table tennis player Manika Batra will square off against 18-year-old Anna Hursey of Great Britain in the opening round of the women’s singles event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Batra, seeded 18th for the upcoming edition, made it to the third round at Tokyo 2020 in women’s singles. This will be her third successive appearance at the Summer Games after making her debut at Rio 2016.
Anna Hursey, meanwhile, will be making her Olympics debut. Batra, the world No. 28, comfortably outranks the Welsh teenager, who is 103rd in the standings.
Meanwhile, Sreeja Akula, seeded 16th in women’s singles at Paris 2024, will take on Sweden’s Christina Kallberg in her round of 64 match. Kallberg appeared at Tokyo 2020 in this event and lost in the opening round.
The Indian table tennis players will face a stern test in the men’s team event as they square off against the People’s Republic of China, four-time gold medallists, in the opening round.
Since the introduction of team events at the Olympics in 2008, China have won the gold medal in the men’s event at all the editions. India have qualified for team events in table tennis at the Olympics for the first time.
The women’s team, meanwhile, will face Romania in the round of 16. They could face Germany, Rio 2016 silver medallists, in the second round.
In men’s singles, veteran Sharath Kamal will face the 27-year-old Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the first round. Kozul competed in Tokyo 2020 while Sharath Kamal is set to become a five-time Olympian.
Harmeet Desai, meanwhile, will start his men’s singles campaign from the preliminary round. Desai will face Zaid Abo Yaman of Jordan on July 27.
The preliminary round in men’s and women’s singles will include three matches each. The winners of the preliminary round will qualify to the round of 64.
If Harmeet Desai wins the preliminary round, he will face France’s Felix Lebrun, the world No. 5, in the main draw.
Table tennis competitions at Paris 2024 will take place between July 27 and August 10. All five competitions - men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s team and women’s team - will be played at the South Paris Arena.
Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis: Draws for Indian table tennis players and teams
Men’s team
- Round of 16: India vs China
Women’s team
- Round of 16: India vs Romania
Men’s singles
- Preliminary round: Harmeet Desai vs Zaid Abo Yaman (Jordan)
- Round of 64: Sharath Kamal vs Deni Kozul (Slovenia)
Women’s singles
- Round of 64: Manika Batra vs Anna Hursey (Great Britain)
Round of 64: Sreeja Akula vs Christina Kallberg (Sweden)