Olympics 2024: Buoyant by recent form, Indian paddlers eye upset wins

The Chinese paddlers are predominantly the most dominating players, but the Indian paddlers are not far behind. They have picked up pace in the last few years and emerged as mighty challengers to their famed rivals.

The Indian table tennis team at the Paris Olympics is a perfect blend of experience and youthful vigour.

South Paris Arena, part of the Paris Expo, will host the table tennis matches starting July 27.

Men’s Singles

World No. 40, Achanta Sharath Kamal is India's top-ranked men's singles player. He has been drawn against Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the Round of 64.

Sharath, who will compete at his fifth Olympics in Paris, will look for a strong start to his campaign when he takes on Kozul on July 27.

If Sharath overcomes Kozul, he will have a showdown against eighth seed Jang Woo-jin from South Korea. The two paddlers haven’t played each other before and the round of 16 clash could be a great spectacle to watch.

Harmeet Desai is the other Indian men's singles paddler who will be in action. He will begin his Olympic campaign in the preliminary round later that day.

Desai will face Zaid Abo Yaman of Jordan in the preliminary round, and a victory here will pit him against the world No. 5, Felix Lebrun of France, in the Round of 64.

Known for his aggressive style and powerful strokes, Lebrun will undoubtedly be a formidable opponent, but Desai will be eager to put his best foot forward to prove his mettle by springing a surprise.

While these early matchups appear advantageous on paper, the unpredictable nature of table tennis means both players will need to be at their best to get better of one another.

Women’s singles

India will be represented by two of the country's most promising players Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula in women's singles at the Paris Olympics. Both players have been handed a relatively favourable draw in their respective women's singles Round of 64 groups.

Manika, seeded 18th, will open her campaign against the young British player Anna Hursey in the first round.

Given her stature and experience, Manika is expected to rise through the initial round, setting up a potential Round of 32 clash against the higher-ranked French player of Indian origin, Prithika Pavade.

One of the most improved players in recent times is Sreeja Akula. She has been seeded 16th. In the first round, she will play a rather easy opponent, Christina Kallberg of Sweden. However, Christina's experience playing in the Tokyo Olympics could be the difference between the two players.

Sreeja's ability to fight through difficult situations and punch above her weight. But wins in the first two rounds mean she is likely to be drawn against World No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the Round of 16, and that will be a pure test of testament and pressure for her.

Even if the draws offer a promising start for both Indian women, their performances will set up the tone for the campaign of the Indian table tennis contingent in the Olympics 2024.

The road ahead is undoubtedly challenging and daunting, but potential upsets can take the Indian paddlers as deep as possible into the competition.