CWG 2022: Will Indian table tennis team be able to repeat Gold Coast’s record performance in Birmingham?

London. If the Indian table tennis team, which achieved new heights in the Gold Coast last time, even equals the 2018 performance in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, it will be a great achievement for it. The Indian team won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals, performing better than expectations in Australia’s Gold Coast. Half of these medals including two gold were won by Manika Batra, after which her popularity had increased a lot.

The 27-year-old Delhi-based player defeated Singapore’s Olympic medalist Feng Tianwei not once, but twice, to win gold in the individual and team events for India. The 35-year-old Singapore player will now be looking forward to take revenge on Manika in Birmingham. The Indian women’s team will look slightly changed this time. Shreeja Akula, Reet Rishya and Diya Chitale will present the Indian challenge along with Manika, ranked 41st in the world.

Sharath Kamal to lead the men’s team
Competing in their fifth and last Commonwealth Games, India’s best table tennis players Sharath Kamal, evergreen G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty will challenge the Indian men’s team. Before the Commonwealth Games, Indian players practiced in Portugal and then competed in Hungary.

The case of the CWG team reached the court
The formation of the Indian table tennis team has not been easy, as three players have approached the court for not being selected. Of these, only Chitale benefited, who was replaced by Archana Kamat in the team. Kamat could pair doubles with Manika in the Games. The four-member men’s team includes the same players who took part in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. These players have a lot of experience and it is expected that they will be able to defend the team title. India has been seeded third in the team event after England and Nigeria.

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England team will present challenge: Kamal
The 40-year-old Sharath, who last won gold in singles at Melbourne in 2006, said, “England is a slightly stronger team than Nigeria. Our target is definitely to win the gold medal in the individual as well as in the team event. Nigeria’s team has world number 12 player Aruna Quadri while England’s team has Liam Pitchford and experienced Paul Drinkhall.

Indians, however, will have chances to win medals in all the events. Apart from Sharath and Manika, Sathiyan is also a gold medal contender in men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

The Indian team is as follows:

Male: Sharat Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty.

woman: Manika Batra, Reet Rishya, Shreeja Akula, Diya Chitale.

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Tags: Commonwealth Games, cwg, G Sathiyan, manika batra