Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams reached the knockout stage of the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London, England, on Thursday.
India women beat Rwanda, and the men defeated Guatemala in their final group ties, and with three straight wins, both teams topped their groups.
They will now move to their respective 32-team knockout stage, starting on May 4th, which will determine the world team champions in both disciplines.
India used their bench strength in the final tie against a comparatively easier opponent and gave debuts to youngsters like Payas Jain and Syndrela Das.
In the men’s tie, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran played the first singles and registered a straight-game victory over a much lower-ranked Segio Carrillo.
Then, the India no.1 Manav Thakkar and the Payas continued the momentum and claimed a 3-0 win in the tie, with two more straight-game wins.
Following that, the Indian women’s team also finished the tournament with three consecutive wins, as Manika Batra, Diya Chitale and Syndrela won their respective matches in straight games.
Both teams will now head to the knockout stage, aiming to improve on their performances from the last edition, where they had a pre-quarterfinal exit.
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