Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra included in Indian table tennis team for Asian Championships

Veteran Sharath Kamal and star women’s player Manika Batra were on Wednesday included in the Indian team for the 27th Asian Table Tennis Championship. The championship will be held in Astana from 7 to 13 October. 42-year-old Sharath recently participated in his fifth and last Olympics. He is the captain of the men’s team which includes Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and Manush Shah. Manika will lead the women’s team which also includes Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Diya Cheetal and Sutirtha Mukherjee.

“The selection process was rigorous, with TTFI giving priority to world rankings, international experience and performance at the national level as the main criteria for the final team,” TTFI said in a statement.

The Indian team is working under the guidance of foreign specialist Massimo Constantini, who has been working on refining the skills and strategies of the players since his return to India in June.

“I hope they will give their best at the Astana Championships,” Constantini said.

The team, especially the women’s team, performed well at the Paris Olympics and reached the quarter-finals. The men’s team lost to mighty China in the Round of 16. This was the first time India qualified for team events at the Olympics.

As an important qualifying event for the World Table Tennis Championships and the Asian Games, the Asian Championships holds vital importance for the Indian team.

Men’s Team: A. Sharath Kamal (captain), Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, G. Sathiyan, Manush Shah; Reserve players: SFR Snehit and Jeet Chandra.

Women’s team: Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra (captain), Ayhika Mukherjee, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee; Reserve players: Yashaswini Ghorpade and Poymanti Baisya.

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