Paris Olympics: Debutants Manav Thakkar, Archana Kamath excited to play their part in TT team events

Paris: Rising table tennis stars Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath are thrilled to be playing in their first-ever Olympics, eager to support their experienced teammates in the team event at Paris Games.

For the first time in history, India will compete in the men’s and women’s team championships at the Olympics. The two young guns will have to play to their perfection if India have to punch above their weight against the top teams.

Indian women’s team will face Romania in the round of 16 on Monday, while the men’s team will take on China in their opening match on Tuesday.

Known for their aggressive style of play, Thakkar and Kamath, both 24, are accustomed to high-pressure situations. They have been competing on the WTT circuit and have also taken on the responsibility of seeing their teams through in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).

Thakkar, formerly ranked No. 1 in the under-21 world ranking, was part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. “I don’t feel any pressure. I am actually looking forward to giving my best in Paris,” Thakkar told Ultimate Table Tennis during an interview when asked about how he looks at his role as the youngest member of the men’s team.

Thakkar is part of the men’s team with Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. The women’s team includes Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Kamath, and Ayhika Mukherjee.

Thakkar is likely to play doubles with Desai, while Kamath is expected to team up with Batra, with whom she has a career-best women’s doubles world ranking of 4.

“I am very honoured and fortunate to be part of the team and I am just looking forward to going all out and giving my best there… I have been working a lot on learning how to manage my aggression with control and I am going to focus on one match at a time,” Kamath told UTT.

Both Thakkar and Kamath emphasised that their UTT experience has prepared them for high-pressure competitions and paved the way for their international success.

“In 2018, I remember I played against Kristian Karlsson (in the UTT), he was top-20 in the world. And when I won against him, it gave me the belief, and since then, I can see my graph going up in the senior category and I hope I can continue like this,” said Thakkar, who was retained by U Mumba TT for the upcoming UTT season.

Kamath, who won the women’s doubles title at the WTT Contender Lagos 2024 with Sreeja, noted that her success in UTT boosted her confidence, preparing her to take on any responsibility at the Paris Olympics.

Earlier, Batra made history by becoming the first Indian to reach the pre-quarterfinals in the singles event at the Olympics. Sreeja also finished her impressive campaign in the round of 16.

After the Olympics, Thakkar will face top international players, including World No. 10 Bernadette Szocs and Nigerian legend Quadri Aruna, as well as his compatriots like Desai and Sharath Kamal, in the UTT 2024, scheduled in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.

–IANS