"Something I have wanted for a long long time" - Sharath Kamal expresses happiness after India qualifies for the team event at Paris Olympics 2024
The Indian men's and women's table tennis teams have created history by securing a place at the Paris Olympics 2024. Both teams will make their maiden appearance at the Olympics, having secured the quota for the first time.
The table tennis team event was introduced at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The upcoming edition marks the fifth time the team events will be held at the Olympics.
India's teams secured a place in the Paris Olympics 2024 based on the latest ITTF World Team Rankings released on Monday, March 4.
Indian veteran table tennis player Sharath Kamal Achanta was elated to have secured a berth at the Paris Olympics in the team event. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his delight:
"Finally!!!! India qualifies for the team event at the Olympics! Something I have wanted for a long long time! This one is truly special, despite it being my fifth appearance at the Olympics!"
"Kudos to our Women’s Team who also secure a historical quota," his tweet added.
Paris Olympics 2024: List of all nations competing in the men's & women's table table team event
France received an entry into the men's & women's team events as hosts of the Paris Olympics 2024.
Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, and Sweden made it to the men's event at the Paris Olympics by winning their respective Continental Qualification events. India, Croatia, and Slovenia were the last three teams to qualify based on the latest world rankings.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Korean Republic, and Portugal secured Paris Olympics berths by making it to the quarter-finals in the recently concluded ITTF World Team Championships Finals in Busan.
India, Poland, Sweden, and Thailand qualified for the women's team event based on the ITTF World Rankings issues on Monday. Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, and the USA qualified through their respective Continental Qualifiers.
Chinese Taipei, Japan, the Korean Republic, Hong Kong, and Romania secured Paris Olympics quotas through the ITTF World Team Championships Finals.