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The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has released the draw for the Tokyo 2020 World Team Qualification. The tournament will kickstart on 22nd January in Gondomor, Portugal. India have a chance to secure a berth for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics through this qualification event.
A total of 16 places (for men's team and women's team events) are there in Table Tennis at the quadrennial extravaganza. Japan, being the hosts, have already secured a spot. Furthermore, each continent has already had a qualifying competition. Germany, Egypt, China, United States, Brazil, and Australia have qualified for 2020 Olympics by virtue of these tournaments. The remaining 9 teams will be selected through the Tokyo 2020 World Team Qualification tournament.
The mixed doubles category at the 2020 Olympics will also have 16 participating pairs while there will be a total of 64 to 70 participants in the singles (both men's and women's) category.
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A total of 32 teams are in contention at the World Team Qualification tournament. Progression to the quarterfinals will guarantee a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will be leading India's charge in the men's team event while Manika Batra will spearhead the women's team.
The Draw
The 5th seeded Indian men's team will be locking horns with 32nd seeded Luxembourg in their tournament opener. The strong Indian unit comprises of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gyanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Anthony Amalraj, and the young Manav Thakkar. They are expected to progress to the Round of 16 without much trouble. If Sathiyan and co. win the first round, they will either face 11th seeded Slovenia or 20th seeded Islamic Rep. of Iran in the pre-quarters.
Overall, the men's team should not face many difficulties in progressing to the quarters and thereby securing a ticket to Tokyo.
The 17th seeded Indian women's team, on the other hand, have been handed a slightly more challenging draw. Manika Batra, Archana Girish Kamath, Ayhika Mukherjee, Madhurika Patkar, and Sutirtha Mukherjee are part of the squad.
They will be facing 16th seeded Sweden in the opening round. In case they manage to win, they will either face 5th seeded Romania or 23rd seeded Italy in the Round of 16. Hence, the chances of the Indian women's team progressing to the quarters are a little slim.
Click here for the complete draw.
Here is all the other information you need about the 2020 ITTF World Team Qualification Tournament:
Schedule:
Men's team: India vs Luxembourg - 22nd January, 2020 at 17:00 (10:30 PM IST)
Women's team: India vs Sweden - 23rd January, 2020 at 19:30 (12:30 AM IST)
Where to Watch?
Live streaming of all the matches of 2020 ITTF World Team Qualification Tournament will be available on itTV and their YouTube Channel.
