Asian Cup 2022 | India handed tough draw, all eyes on Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan
The Indian team for the Asian Cup 2022 table tennis competition in Bangkok, Thailand, will be led by CWG champion Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan G, and Manika Batra beginning on Thursday. The competition will be held during the three-day tournament, which is being organised by ATTU and ITTF in Bangkok.
The round of 16 will serve as the tournament's first round. Live streaming of both the men's and women's matches will be accessible in India. Each category will have a maximum of two players from a single nation. There will be seven games played in each match. A game is won by the team that scores 11 points first with a two-point advantage.
At the 33rd Asian Cup, India's top-ranked male table tennis player will be Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, currently ranked 39th in the world. Sharath Kamal, the current national champion and Khel Ratna recipient, is placed 44th.
Ma Long, the winner from Tokyo 2020, and Fan Zhendong, the silver medalist from China, will not compete. Chuqin Wang of China, who won bronze for China in the mixed doubles team competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan, who is ranked No. 4, and Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei are all in the men's field.
The only female table tennis player from India to qualify for the championships is Manika Batra, who is ranked No. 44 in the world. Wang Yidi of China, who won the bronze medal in the global championships, Mima Ito of Japan, who won the mixed team title at Tokyo 2020, and Hina Hayata of Japan, who is ranked sixth in the world, will all be opponents for her.
The Asian Cup, which was most recently hosted in 2019, was postponed between 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. Chetan Baboor is the only player from India to have won a medal in table tennis at the Asian Cup, taking home silver in 1997 and bronze in 2000.
Where to watch?
On the International Table Tennis Federation's YouTube account ITTFWorld, the Asian Cup 2022 table tennis competition will be streamed live. No Indian TV channel will air a live broadcast of the Asian Cup 2022.
Schedule
All times are Indian Standard Times (IST)
Thursday, November 17
Women's Singles Round of 16 - 10:00 AM IST onwards
Men's Singles Round of 16 - 12:25 PM IST onwards
Friday, November 18
Women's Singles Quarter-finals - 10:30 AM IST onwards
Men's Singles Quarter-finals - 12:10 PM IST onwards
Saturday, November 19
Women's Singles Semi-finals - 11:00 AM IST onwards
Men's Singles Semi-finals - 12:40 PM IST onwards
Women's Singles 3rd-4th Position - 2:20 PM IST onwards
Men's Singles 3rd-4th Position - 3:10 PM IST onwards
Women's Singles Final - 4:00 PM IST onwards
Men's Singles Final - 5:00 PM IST onwards