Asian WTTC Continental Stage in Qatar: India’s Harmeet gets second singles quota for 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban

January 13, 2023

Reeth finishes on a winning note

Splendid show by Indian paddlers two players in men’s singles, 4 in women’s singles, , 2 pairs in men’s doubles, one each in women’s doubles and mixed doubles qualified for the

Doha, Qatar (January 13): Indian paddlers put up a splendid show at the Asian WTTC Continental Stage in Qatar winning four quota places in the women’s singles, two each in the men’s singles and doubles besides one each in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles in the continental qualifying tournament which ended on Friday at Lusail Sports Arena.

The final day of the qualification for the World Table Tennis Championship in South Africa witnessed four matches in men's singles to determine places from 25 to 32, and one match in women's singles.

Saudi Ali Al-Khadhrawi defeated Singapore player Xiu Wei 4-1 in the match for 31st and 32nd places, and Indian Harmeet Desai defeated Singapore player Pang Kuen 4-1 in the match for 29th and 30th place, and Iranian Naushad Alamayan overcame the hurdle of Hong Kong player Ho Kwan with a score 4-3 in the match for 27th and 28th place, and the Japanese Togami Shun Seok won against Singapore player Jake Isaacs 4-2 in the 25th and 26th place match.

In the women's singles match, India's Reeth Tannison defeated Hong Kong player Wing Lam 4-3 in the match for 29th and 30th place.

With the conclusion of the qualifiers, 25 players qualified for the World Table Tennis Championship in South Africa 2023 in the men’s singles category, as follows: two players from India, 5 players from China, 5 players from Japan, 5 players from South Korea, 3 players from Iran and 3 players from Chinese Taipei, one player from Kazakhstan and one player from Hong Kong.

And 28 players in the women’s singles category: 4 players from India, 5 players from Japan, 5 players from China, 5 players from South Korea, 2 players from Hong Kong, 3 players from Thailand, 3 players from Chinese Taipei, and one player from Singapore.

And 13 teams in the men’s doubles category, with two teams from Japan, 2 from China, 2 from South Korea, 2 from India, one team from Kazakhstan, 2 from Iran, one team from Singapore, and one team from Qatar.

And 12 teams in the women's doubles category, with two teams from Japan, two from China, two from South Korea, two from Hong Kong, one team from Chinese Taipei, and one team each from India, Uzbekistan and Thailand.

And 12 teams and players in the mixed doubles category, by: (2 from Japan), (2 from China), (2 from South Korea), (2 from Singapore), and one team each from Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, India and Kazakhstan.

A maximum of four players can get a quota from each of the category for the World championship.

India's top-ranked women's player Manika Batra, national champion Sreeja Akula Swastika Ghosh and Diya Parga Chitale are the four women players who have qualified for the South Africa event.

On Wednesday, ranked a distant 243, Swastika punched way above her weight to bring down 70th-ranked Hsing-Yin of Chinese Taipei 4-3 (4-11, 11-7, 2-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9) in the playoff for 17 to 24 places.

In men’s doubles, Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran made it among the 14 qualified pairs after beating Qatar’s Mohammad and Ahmad Khalil to finish in top 16.

Similarly, in women’s doubles, Sreeja and Reeth defeated Singapore’s Goi Rui Xuan and Wong Xin Ru 11-6, 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 to be among the 12 qualifiers.

In the mixed doubles, Sathiyan along with Manika booked a place in the World Finals after winning the round of 16 match against Hiroto Shinozuka and Miyuu of Japan 4-1 (11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7).

115 players representing 20 countries, competed in the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles category.

Besides the Asian WTTC Continental Stage, Qatar will host three other events this month starting with the WTT Contender which begins on Januarys 15 and ends on 21, followed by WTT Feeder Doha, from January 22 to 26 and will end with WTT Youth Contender Doha, from January 27 to 30.

Women’s singles: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Swastika Ghosh and Chitale Diya Parag

Men’s singles: Sharath Kamal Achanta, Harmeet Desai

Women’s Doubles: Sreeja Akula and Reeth Tennison

Men’s Doubles: Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai and Utalbhai Manush Shah

Mixed Doubles: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra