The multiple Birmingham CWG gold medallist, A. Sharath Kamal, and Manika Batra, the poster girl and top-ranked Indian women player, will spearhead the 11-member Indian squad, comprising five men and six women, at the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, South Africa, from May 20 to 28.
The 59th edition of the Worlds will be confined only to the individual championships and the first in Africa after 1939 when Egypt hosted the Worlds.
The selection committee of TTFI considered the latest selection policy, experience and the utility value of the individuals in important events such as the Worlds before recommending the following members to represent the country.
The men’s team will consist of the top-ranked Indian in the world, G. Sathiyan, ranked No. 50, A.Sharath Kamal (No. 55), Manush Shah, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar, while Manika Batra (No. 40), Akula Sreeja, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Reeth Rishya, Archana Kamath and Diya Chitale will form the women’s squad.
Sathiyan, Sharath, Manush, and Harmeet will compete in the men’s singles and the doubles. Sathiyan will pair up with Sharath, while Manush and Harmeet will form the second pair.
Manika, Sreeja Akula, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Reeth Rishya will compete in the singles. However, Manika will team up with Archana Kamath, while Sreeja will combine with Diya Chitale in the women’s doubles.
Sathiyan and Manika will be India’s first pair in the mixed doubles, and the second will be Manav and Archana.
Subhajit Saha and Mamata Prabhu will accompany the teams as men and women coaches, respectively.