World Table Tennis Championships: India Squad to receive SAI assistance for Tournament Expenses

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has allocated over ₹90 lakh in comprehensive support to power the Indian table tennis squad at the landmark centenary ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTC), kicking off in London on Tuesday (April 28).

Running from April 28 to May 10 at the OVO Arena in Wembley, this prestigious event features a 19-member Indian contingent, including 10 players, three coaches, three support staff, and three sparring partners. Stars like Manika Batra, Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, Manav Thakkar, and Harmeet Desai will lead the men's and women's challenges.

In group stages, the Indian men's team faces Slovakia, Tunisia, and Guatemala, while the women tackle Ukraine, Uganda, and Rwanda from April 28 to May 1. Aiming to surpass their 2024 Busan performance, where both squads reached the knockout stages but fell in the Round of 32, the teams eye deeper runs here.

Though table tennis skips the Commonwealth Games 2026, the WTTC serves as a vital benchmark before the Asian Games 2026 in Japan and the centenary Commonwealth Games 2030 in Bharat, testing India's depth and readiness.

SAI's prep included a national coaching camp at Bengaluru's Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports Centre (April 13-19, ₹13.26 lakh) and an overseas stint in Sheffield (April 21-26, ₹20.92 lakh). This mix of domestic drills and European adaptation honed Massimo Constantini's squad for match sharpness and local conditions.

Additionally, SAI disbursed ₹60.1 lakh to the Table Tennis Federation of India, covering airfare, boarding, lodging, allowances, and entry fees for athletes and officials.

Indian Teams for ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 2026

Men's team: Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Payas Jain

Women's team: Manika Batra, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das

Coaches: Massimo Costantini (Foreign Expert), Sourav Chakraborty, Somnath Ghosh