NEW DELHI: The
Indian men
's and women's teams on Wednesday faced defeats in the pre-quarterfinals of the
World Table Tennis Championships
in Busan, South Korea. The women's team, led by
Manika Batra
, lost 1-3 to Chinese Taipei, while the men's team was defeated 0-3 by South Korea for the second time in the competition.
Despite these losses, the Indian teams are likely to secure berths at the
Paris Olympics
based on their world rankings.
The final confirmation will be announced on March 5 after considering the points earned from the World Championships.
The event offered Olympic quotas to the quarter-finalists but the men and women from India are likely to make the cut through their world rankings.
"In all likelihood, the men and women have qualified for the Olympics but we will have to wait till March for an official announcement," said a Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) official.
In the women's pre-quarterfinal match, Manika Batra won her singles match against Taipei's Chen Szu-Yu, but her teammates Sreeja Akula and Ayhika Mukherjee couldn't secure victories in their respective matches.
Similarly, the Indian men's team couldn't overcome the strength of the Korean team, with
Harmeet Desai
,
Sharath Kamal
, and G Sathiyan facing defeats in their singles matches.
Earlier in the tournament, Harmeet Desai's crucial win against Kazakhstan helped the Indian men's team reach the pre-quarterfinals, while the women's team comfortably advanced to the last-16 stage with a 3-0 victory over Italy.
Despite the setbacks in the pre-quarterfinals, the performances of both Indian teams in the World Table Tennis Championships have likely secured their spots at the Paris Olympics, pending the official announcement in March.
(With PTI inputs)
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