New Delhi (India): Paddlers Sreeja Akula (16th) and Manika Batra (18th) are the highest-seeded Indian players at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis event, which begins on July 27.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday announced the seedings for a total of 67 players in each of the men's and women's singles events, while 16 teams each are seeded for both team events.
Sreeja reached a career-best -- 24 in the world table tennis rankings last month, dethroning her compatriot Batra as India's top-ranked women's singles player. Batra, world No. 28, is seeded 26th, two ranks below Sreeja.
The 25-year-old Sreeja, a two-time national champion, became the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender singles title in June. She has also won the WTT Contender mixed double title with veteran Archana Kamath, who is set to make his fifth Olympic appearance.
A former Commonwealth Games champion, Manika, who will be featuring in Olympics for third straight occasion, became the first Indian singles table tennis player to reach the last eight of a WTT Grand Smash event, reaching quarterfinal in May.
Sharath Kamal, two-time Commonwealth Games men's singles champion, is seeded 24th while National champion Harmeet Desai, ranked 86th in the world in men's singles, is seeded 49th and will be making his debut at the Carnival of Sports.
At Tokyo 2020, the 41-year-old veteran was ousted in the third round, his best finish at the Olympic Games to date.
Meanwhile, India will debut in the team table tennis events at the upcoming Olympics, where the four singles players will be joined by Manav Thakkar (men's team) and Archana Kamath (women's team).
Both the men's and women's team events were introduced to the Olympic programme at Beijing in 2008.
Seeded 14th at Paris 2024, the Indian men's table tennis team is among the top five Asian teams. Manika Batra and Co. are seeded 11th in the women's team event.
All six Indian table tennis players made the cut for Paris 2024 via their world rankings. There is no Indian representation in the mixed doubles tournament, the release added.
Table tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be conducted 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. (With agency inputs)
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