Three players in men’s singles and four in women’s singles will represent India in the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023 to be held in Durban from May 20-28 this year.
As per the players’ list unveiled for the mega event on Wednesday, the Indians who have qualified in men’s singles are seasoned Sharath Kamal Achanta, G Sathiyan and Manush Shah while 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Reeth Tennison have made the grade.
Two pairs each in men’s and women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles too have qualified for this event.
The top Indian pair of Sharath-Sathiyan along with Hermeet Desai/Manush Shah made the grade in Men’s doubles while in women’s doubles, it will be Manika Batra/Archana Kamath and Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale that will be in contention.
The two pairs that have qualified for the mixed Doubles competition are Satniyan/Manika Batra and Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath.
Meanwhile, the world’s elite paddlers, including Fan Zhendong, Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu, Tomokazu Harimoto, Chen Meng, Ma Long, Mima Ito, Hugo Calderano and Wang Yidi, will be among the participants for the World Championships in Durban.
Reigning champions Fan Zhendong and Wang Manyu of China will be looking to defend their titles, but the duo are expected to face tough challenges from their compatriots like world No. 2 Wang Chuqin and world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, and those from other member associations, including Japan’s Harimoto and Truls Moregard of Sweden.
China won four of five titles in the last edition of the World Championships in Houston, the United States in 2021, with the men’s doubles being the only exception where the Swedish pair of Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson were crowned.
The table tennis flagship event will take place at the Durban International Convention Center and will feature 128 players each in the men’s and women’s singles, and 64 pairs in each of the doubles competitions.
This year’s event marks a return of the championships to Africa after 84 years. The last time the event was held in Africa was in Cairo, Egypt in 1939.