The team event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have commenced with a thrilling start, highlighted by India’s women’s team achieving a historic upset. Making their first-ever appearance in the Olympic team event, India stunned the fourth-seeded Romania, the reigning European Games champions, to advance to the quarterfinals.
India’s journey began with Archana Girish Kamath and Sreeja Akula delivering a dominant 3-0 victory in the doubles match. Manika Batra then continued the momentum with a convincing 3-0 win over Bernadette Szocs. Despite Romania’s efforts to fight back, with Elizabeta Samara defeating Sreeja Akula 3-2 and Bernadette Szocs overcoming Archana Girish Kamath 3-1, the decisive moment came when Manika Batra faced Adina Diaconu. Batra’s 3-0 triumph sealed the victory for India, marking a monumental achievement in their maiden Olympic campaign.
“We started really well with the doubles, and that gave me confidence. We are really happy that we won this match, and now we are focused on the quarters. To our fans, thank you so much for your support, and keep supporting us and keep believing in us, because we are here to give 100%, and we will give our best in the next match.” – Manika Batra
The Indian men’s team has also made history by qualifying for the Olympics for the first time. They will kick off their campaign against top seed China on Tuesday at 10:00 (GMT+2).
Elsewhere in the women’s team event, Japan became the first team to secure a quarter-final spot by defeating Poland in a dominant display. The Japanese duo of Miu Hirano and Hina Hayata started strong with a 3-1 victory in the doubles match. Miwa Harimoto, the youngest table tennis player at Paris 2024, continued the momentum with a 3-0 win over Anna Wegrzyn. Miu Hirano completed the sweep with a 3-0 victory over Natalia Bajor, ensuring Japan’s progression to the next round.
The men’s team event saw Sweden and Chinese Taipei secure their places in the quarterfinals with impressive 3-0 victories over Denmark and Egypt, respectively. Both teams demonstrated their strength and depth to march on in the competition.
The day promises more excitement and intense competition with more Round of 16 clashes resuming at 15:00 (GMT+2). Full match schedules and live results are available here.
Credit: ITTF