Medals unlikely but history beckons
The Hindu
The mixed doubles pairing of Sharath and Manika is India’s best bet
History is in the making. Even if India’s paddlers don’t earn a first Olympic medal in what has been conventionally considered a “lesser sport” by some in the Indian sports ecosystem, Tokyo 2020 will still be a historic occasion for the country’s table tennis fraternity. While veteran A. Sharath Kamal will become the first Indian paddler to feature in four Olympics, Manika Batra will be India’s first female paddler to make a second successive appearance in the quadrennial extravaganza.More Related News
Unlike most of the Olympic-bound athletes, who opt to train abroad before the big event, boxer Amit Panghal prefers training in home conditions prior to Paris 2024. A former World championships silver medallist and a World No. 1, Panghal won the 51kg quota place in the only chance he got. He wants to follow his own plans to script success in Paris.
The other men’s semifinal Friday is Norway’s Casper Ruud, twice the runner-up in Paris — to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and to Novak Djokovic in 2023 — against Germany’s Alexander Zverev, a finalist at the 2020 U.S. Open, an Olympic gold medalist and into the final four at Roland Garros for the fourth consecutive year.