The Indian men's and women's table tennis teams have made history by qualifying for the Olympics for the first time ever, based on their world rankings. This achievement came after the conclusion of the World Team Championships Finals in Busan last month, which served as the final qualifying event for the Paris Olympics. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced that the highest-ranked teams not yet qualified in the latest World Team Ranking have secured their spots for Paris 2024.
In the women's event, India, ranked 13th, along with Poland (12th), Sweden (15th), and Thailand have confirmed their passage to Paris. Meanwhile, in the men's team event, Croatia (12th), India (15th), and Slovenia (11th) have secured their spots.
Veteran player Sharath Kamal expressed his excitement on Twitter, stating, "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!"
This achievement marks a significant milestone in the history of Indian table tennis, 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 defeated 0-3 by South Korea, while the women's team, led by Manika Batra, and lost 1-3 to Chinese Taipei.
