Asian Games: Sreeja Akula leads India’s push to break the bronze medal in table tennis

ByTech Word News

Indian table tennis’ campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games comes at a time when the sport is steadily expanding its international footprint. The country has three Asian Games medals to its credit, all bronze, but the current generation comes with stronger credentials and more exposure at the highest level.

The 10-member team combines experience with youth. G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai bring years of international competition, while Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah have emerged as one of India’s leading pairs. In the women’s team, Sreeja Akula leads a group that includes Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das.

India is also heading into the Games after winning both the team titles at the 2026 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. However, the Asian Games will provide a considerably tougher test with the continent’s strongest table tennis nations.

SATHIYAN, MANAV AND MANUSH LEAD MALE RECRUITMENT

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will be looking for an impressive performance at the Asian Games. Courtesy: Reuters

Sathiyan, Harmeet, Manav, Manush and Payas Jain form the men’s squad, with Ankur Bhattacharjee and Ronit Bhanja as reserves. Sathiyan, Harmeet and Manav were part of the men’s bronze medal team at the 2018 Asian Games, giving the team a direct link to the country’s first medal in the sport.

Manav and Manush, currently world No. 3 in men’s doubles, will be in the spotlight. The Gujarati pair reunited as seniors in 2023 after playing together in their junior days and have since developed a productive right-left combination. Manav’s counter-attacking game complements Manush’s aggressive left-handed style.

They narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2022 Asian Games after advancing to the quarterfinals. Their return to the continental scene comes with more experience and a much higher position in the world rankings.

Sathiyan and Harmeet offer another experienced option in doubles, while Payas adds depth to the team and singles action. The men will thus have opportunities across the team competition, singles and doubles.

SREEJA AKULA WOMEN’S CHALLENGE HOMEPAGE

Sreeja Akula will be key to India’s chances at the Asian Games. Courtesy: Reuters

Sreeja Akula arrives with significant Olympic experience after impressing at Paris 2024. She reached the round of 16 in the women’s singles, defeating Singapore’s Zeng Jian 4-2 before losing to world number one Sun Yingsha. Sreeja also featured in India’s historic team campaign, combining with Archana Kamath to win the opening doubles as India defeated fourth seeds Romania 3–2 to reach the quarter-finals.

Yashaswini added recent form to the team after defeating Sreeja in the women’s singles final at the Commonwealth Championships 2026. Sreeja and Syndrela Das also won the women’s doubles title, giving India another combination to rely on.

Syndrela, 17, is among the younger members of the team and will make her debut at the Asian Games. Her inclusion reflects the growing depth in Indian women’s attitudes.

However, the selection of the women’s squad drew attention as Manika Batra was named among the reserves rather than the main squad. The TTFI selection policy gives 50 percent weightage to national rankings, 40 percent to international rankings and 10 percent to selectors’ discretion.

Batra was ranked world No. 51 when the line-up was finalised, but did not compete in domestic events and therefore did not have a national ranking. She questioned the transparency of the selection process, while the federation claimed that her candidacy was assessed according to existing criteria.

CAN INDIA GO FOR BRONZE?

The breakthrough for table tennis at the Asian Games came in Jakarta-Palembang 2018 when the men’s team won bronze. Sharath Kamal and Batra added another mixed doubles bronze at the same Games.

At Hangzhou 2022, held in 2023, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee secured India’s third medal in the sport with bronze in the women’s doubles. Thus, India is yet to win silver or gold in table tennis at the Asian Games.

Aichi-Nagoya offers a chance to change this record. Manav and Manush bring world rankings in doubles, Sreeja has the experience of reaching the last 16 at the Olympics in singles and Yashaswini comes in as the reigning Commonwealth singles champion. Sathiyan and Harmeet add experience to team events.

The Asian Games field will be significantly stronger than the Commonwealth Championships, especially with the presence of the continent’s established powers. The challenge for India is to translate their recent progress to the bigger stage and turn individual and doubles strength into team success.

After breaking through for their first Asian Games medals in 2018 and adding another in Hangzhou, India now have a team with more international experience and more competitive combinations. Aichi-Nagoya will provide another test of that progress – and another opportunity to push for bronze.

INDIA TABLE TENNIS SQUAD FOR 2026 ASIAN GAMES

MenCast: G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, Payas Jain

WomenStarring: Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das

Reserves: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ronit Bhanja (Male); Svastika Ghosh, Manika Batra (Women)

INDIAN TABLE TENNIS MEDAL WINNERS IN ASIAN GAMES

2018 – Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia

  • Bronze: Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Sharath Kamal & Manav Thakkar – Men’s Team
  • Bronze: Sharath Kamal & Manika Batra — Mixed Doubles

2022 – Hangzhou, China

  • Bronze: Sutirtha Mukherjee & Ayhika Mukherjee — Women’s Doubles

TABLE TENNIS PROGRAM FOR THE ASIAN GAMES

September 20, Sunday

  • Men’s team – group stage
  • Women’s team – group stage

September 21, Monday

  • Men’s team – group stage and knockout rounds
  • Women’s team – group stage and knockout rounds
  • Women’s Doubles – Opening Round

September 22, Tuesday

  • Men’s team – round of 16 and quarterfinals
  • Women’s team – round of 16 and quarterfinals
  • Mixed doubles – opening rounds

September 23, Wednesday

  • Men’s team – semi-finals
  • Women’s team – semi-finals
  • Men’s singles – opening round
  • Women’s Singles – Opening Round
  • Men’s Doubles – Opening Round
  • Mixed doubles – preliminary rounds

September 24, Thursday

  • Men’s team – final
  • Women’s team – final
  • Men’s singles – preliminary round
  • Women’s doubles – preliminary round

September 25, Friday

  • Men’s singles – preliminary rounds
  • Women’s singles – preliminary rounds
  • Men’s doubles – preliminary rounds
  • Women’s doubles – preliminary rounds
  • Mixed Doubles – Quarterfinals and Semifinals

September 26, Saturday

  • Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals
  • Women’s Singles – Quarterfinals
  • Men’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
  • Women’s doubles – quarterfinals
  • Mixed Doubles – Final

September 27, Sunday

Men’s doubles – semi-finals and finals

Women’s singles – semi-finals and finals

September 28, Monday

  • Men’s singles – semi-finals and finals
  • Women’s doubles – semi-finals and finals

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

19 Sep 2026 10:31 IST