NEW DELHI, March 4: The Indian men’s and women’s teams on Monday scripted history as they qualified for the Olympics for the first time ever based on their world rankings.
After the conclusion of the World Team Championships Finals in Busan last month, which served as the last qualifying event for the Paris Olympics, seven spots in the team events remained, which have been awarded to sides based on their rankings.
“The highest-ranked teams not yet qualified in the latest World Team Ranking booked their ticket to Paris 2024,” ITTF said.
In the women’s event, India, ranked 13, Poland (12), Sweden (15), and Thailand have secured their passage to Paris.
While Croatia (12), India (15), and Slovenia (11) have secured their spots in the men’s team event.
“Finally!!!! India qualifies for the team event at the Olympics! Something I have wanted for a long long time! This one is truly special, despite it being my fifth appearance at the Olympics! Kudos to our Women’s Team who also secure a historical quota!” veteran Sharath Kamal tweeted.
This marks a significant milestone for Indian table tennis history, as it will be the first time the nation competes in the team event at the Olympics since its inception at the Beijing 2008 Games.
Both the Indian teams had missed Olympic berths at the ITTF World Team Championships Finals after making pre-quarterfinals exits.
The men’s table tennis team, led by veteran Sharath were blanked 0-3 by South Korea, while the Manika Batra-led women’s team lost 1-3 to Chinese Taipei.
Indian squad to train in Asia, Europe ahead of Olympics
The men and women, who qualified for the Paris Olympics based on their world rankings after pre-quarterfinals appearances in the World Championship last month, are expected to train across Asia and Europe ahead of the Olympics in July-August.
“The preparation will involve both training and competition and the players could have a camp in China and Korea before shifting their base to Europe closer to the Olympics,” the official added.
TT could get a coach after 6 years
India’s elite table tennis players could soon have the services of a head coach after six years with Italy’s Massimo Costantini likely to return to the country for his third stint with the national team.
Costantini’s previous tenures with the Indian team came in 2009-2010 and 2016-2018. The 65-year-old’s second stint culminated with India’s historic performance at the 2018 Asian Games where the country won a table tennis medal for the very first time.
The sport’s graph rose sharply following the historic performance in the Asian Games but for some reason, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) was not able to find Costantini’s successor. However, as things stand, the Italian is set for his longest tenure with the national side. (PTI)
