Indian Men's Table Tennis Team Exits Paris Olympics, Women Make Historic Quarterfinals

The Indian men's table tennis team lost to China 3-0 in the round of 16 at the Paris Olympics, marking the end of their campaign. Meanwhile, India's women's team reached the quarterfinals for the first time, defeating Romania 3-2 in a thrilling match.

The Indian men's table tennis team's journey at the Paris Olympics concluded on Tuesday as Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar were defeated 3-0 by China in their round of 16 match. According to Olympics.com, Desai and Thakkar lost the first match 0-3 (2-11, 3-11, 7-11) against Ma Long and Wang Chuqin.

Sharath Kamal, despite an early lead, lost to the Paris Olympics 2024 singles gold medalist Fan Zhendong in the second match 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5). Manav Thakkar also couldn't keep up with Wang Chuqin in the third match, losing 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9).

This defeat marks the end of India's men's table tennis team campaign at the Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, the Indian women's team created history by reaching the quarterfinals, defeating Romania 3-2. In a gripping encounter, Sreeja Akula-Archana Kamath and Manika Batra initially gave India a 2-0 lead, but Romania leveled the score in the singles matches. Manika Batra secured the final victory by defeating Adina Diaconu 3-0, sealing India's first-ever participation in both men's and women's table tennis team events at the Olympics, a program introduced in Beijing 2008.