Sharath Kamal (Credit: PTI)
Take a look at Indian Men’s Singles Table Tennis players Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar ahead of their event at Paris Olympics 2024.
Sharath Kamal, one of India’s best table tennis players ever, will be raring to showcase his talent at the Paris Olympics. Kamal remains one the most decorated Indians in the sport with seven Commonwealth Games golds and two Asian Games medals. He started playing at the age of four, thanks to the guidance of his father Srinivasa Rao and uncle Muralidhar Rao. Sharath is regarded among the best table tennis players in the world, winning multiple medals across various tournaments. The Paris Olympics 2024 will mark his fifth appearance at the Games.
Harmeet Desai took training under five-time world table tennis champion Peter Karlsson. Under his guidance, Harmeet won his first international bronze medal at the World Junior Circuit Taiyuan Open in the U-15 category. In 2019, he became the first table tennis player from Gujarat to win the National Table Tennis Championships.
Manav Thakkar took up table tennis for fitness and was eventually drawn into it. His consistent performance led him to the domestic level and then to the Indian team for the 2018 Asian Games. He came back with a team bronze medal from Jakarta. Manav topped the ITTF World Rankings in the U18 and U21 categories and has even been a part of the Indian team at the Asian Championships and World Table Tennis Championships in 2023.
Sharath Kamal
Age: 42
Sports/Discipline: Men’s team and men’s singles
First Olympic Games: Athens 2004
Major Achievements:
Gold Medal in Men’s Singles, Men’s Team, and Mixed Doubles Events at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
Silver Medal in Men’s Doubles at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
Bronze Medal in the Men’s Team at the Asian Championships (2023)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Singles at the WTT Contender Doha (2022)
Harmeet Desai
Age: 31
Sports/Discipline: Men’s team and men’s singles
First Olympic Games: N/A
Major Achievements:
Gold Medal in Men’s Doubles at WTT Condender Lagos (2024)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles at WTT Feeder Cappadocia (2024)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Team at the ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships Korea (2023)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Singles at WTT Contender Lagos (2023)
Manav Thakkar
Age: 24
Sports/Discipline: Men’s team
First Olympic Games: Paris 2024
Major Achievements:
Gold Medal in Men’s Doubles at the WTT Contender Lagos (2024)
Bronze Medal in Mixed Doubles at WTT Contender Lagos (2024)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Doubles at WTT Contender Mendoza (2024)
Bronze Medal in Men’s Doubles at WTT Contender Rio De Janeiro (2024)
Gold Medal in Men’s Doubles at WTT Feeder Beirut 2 (2024)
Paris Olympics Qualification
Sharath Kamal has been chosen as India’s flag-bearer in Paris after qualifying as the top-ranked Indian (40th). While Sathiyan Gnanasekaran failed to make it in the men’s team, Manav Thakkar (62nd) and Harmeet Desai (63rd) have been chosen to accompany Kamal at the Olympics in Paris.
Event Date and Time
July 27, Saturday – Men’s Singles Preliminary Round 1 – 6:30 PM onwards
August 5, Monday – Men’s team round of 16 – 1:30 PM onwards
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