Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan, Manika Batra set for Tokyo Olympics qualifiers

India’s top paddlers will enter a crucial week in their quest to book a spot at the Tokyo Olympics with the back-to-back world and Asian qualification tournaments beginning in Doha on Sunday.

The seasoned Sharath Kamal, India’s highest-ranked table tennis player at world No. 32 and the 37th-ranked G Sathiyan, and world No. 63 Manika Batra and No. 95 Sutirtha Mukherjee among women will take part in the World Singles Qualification Tournament from March 14-17, followed by the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament from March 18-20.

The Asian event will provide a much easier path for the four players to go through, as well as a chance for Sharath and Batra to seal a berth in mixed doubles. Despite a majority of the world’s top paddlers having qualified through the team event held in January last year - where both Indian teams disappointed - Sharath and Sathiyan will have three top-25 men in the 73-strong field in the world qualifiers. There are eight players ranked above Batra in the women’s field of 60.

Four Tokyo spots for men and five for women will be up for grabs in the world tournament. The men will be divided into three groups, with one spot each for the group winner. The losing finalist and semi-finalists will then fight for the other spot. A similar format has been drawn for the women, who will be divided into four groups.

“In the Asian tournament, I know I will qualify; it’s more of a formality,” Sharath said from Doha on Saturday. “The world tournament will be an additional tournament where I can qualify early. So the pressure is not too high. If I qualify from it, it will be much more satisfying because I would’ve played some of my best levels of table tennis in a much stronger field.”

Sharath and Sathiyan are the top two seeds in the Asian qualifiers and are expected to bag the regional quota. “Our bigger chance is definitely at the Asian qualifiers,” Sathiyan said. “It’s a situation where Sharath and I will get in (for the Tokyo Games) even if we don’t make it through the world event. But we’re not going to take it lightly. My aim will still be to qualify through the world qualifiers.”

Indian paddlers returned to competitive mode last month after a gap of almost a year, in the national championships in Panchkula. They then shifted base to Doha, which hosted a couple of World Table Tennis (WTT) events in the lead-up to the qualifiers. The 38-year-old Sharath not only got much-needed quality game time but also a confidence-boosting five-game victory over world No. 16 German Patrick Franziska in the Round of 32 of the WTT Star Contender earlier this week.

“I’m pretty confident with the way I’ve been playing here and I’ll take that confidence into the qualifiers,” Sharath said. “Until two days ago I was thinking about how to approach the world qualifiers and whether I should go hard in it. Then I thought if I’m on a good run, why stop it?”

Fresh off his national title after defeating Sharath in the final, Sathiyan crashed out in the Round of 32 of both the events - losing to fifth-ranked Japanese teen Harimoto Tomokazu and world No. 20 Nigerian Aruna Quadri, who features in the world qualifiers. The Indian was battling a shoulder issue through the two tournaments and it is still not 100 %, but he remains upbeat about his fitness.

“It’s going to be pretty tough to qualify in the world event with a lot of top players there. But I feel fitter. We’ve been here for two weeks and preparing well,” Sathiyan said.

Batra will have to punch way above her weight in the world qualifiers, especially after losing in the final qualifying and the first round of the two WTT tournaments. The 25-year-old is seeded second in the Asian event, with Mukherjee two spots after her.

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