Busan
The Indian men’s and women’s teams secured their spots in the round of 16 stage of the ongoing World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea on Wednesday, with both sides just a victory away from Paris Olympics 2024 quota.
Upto eight Paris 2024 team quotas are available for men’s and women’s events each during the championships and moving to the quarterfinals will help them secure the quotas.
First, it was the Indian women’s side that beat Italy 3-0, as per Olympics.com.
The 49th-ranked Sreeja Akula ensured India started off well, beating world No. 295 Nikoleta Stefanova 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-7) in 20 minutes.
The world number 36 Manika Batra, India’s top-ranked women’s player made quick work Girogia Piccolin, beating her in just 23 minutes by 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-5).
In the third match of the tie, Ayhika Mukherjee faced a brief slum but nonetheless beat Gaia Monfardini 3-1 (15-13, 11-9, 15-13, 11-8) to complete a clean sweep victory for India. India’s next challenge is against heavyweight side Chinese Taipei. Later during the day, the men’s team also defeated Kazakhstan by 3-2 and joined their women’s counterparts in the round of 16.
