<p>The Indian men's table tennis squad is well placed to create history at the Olympic qualifiers beginning here on Wednesday, the fifth seeds needing just a quarterfinal finish to ensure its maiden qualification as a team at the Summer Games.</p>.<p>Unless the team comprising G Sathiyan (world rank 30), veteran Sharath Kamal (WR 33) and Harmeet Desai (WR 86) play badly, India should not have a lot of difficulty in making the Olympic cut.</p>.<p>In the past games, Indian players have played only in individual events but now three of them being in top-100 shows the rapid strides India has taken at the highest level.</p>.<p>The men take on Luxembourg in their opening match and women, seeded 17th, face a formidable Sweden.</p>.<p>Ahead of the tournament, the squad had a camp in Chennai before it travelled to Germany to train with its national team.</p>.<p>Despite the lack of a head coach since the 2019 Asian Games, Indian players have been producing impressive on the professional circuit.</p>.<p>The men's team had ended a 60-year wait by winning a historic bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta.</p>.<p>The contingent's campaign got even better Sharath and Manika Batra, who won four medals at the preceding Commonwealth Games, bagged a surprise bronze in the mixed doubles.</p>.<p>Nine qualifying spots are on offer at the ITTF organised event. A top-eight finish guarantees Olympic qualification.</p>.<p>Korea is the top seed in men's category, followed by Chinese Taipei, Sweden, France and India.</p>.<p>Hong Kong is the top seed in women's event, followed by Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Korea and Romania.</p>
<p>The Indian men's table tennis squad is well placed to create history at the Olympic qualifiers beginning here on Wednesday, the fifth seeds needing just a quarterfinal finish to ensure its maiden qualification as a team at the Summer Games.</p>.<p>Unless the team comprising G Sathiyan (world rank 30), veteran Sharath Kamal (WR 33) and Harmeet Desai (WR 86) play badly, India should not have a lot of difficulty in making the Olympic cut.</p>.<p>In the past games, Indian players have played only in individual events but now three of them being in top-100 shows the rapid strides India has taken at the highest level.</p>.<p>The men take on Luxembourg in their opening match and women, seeded 17th, face a formidable Sweden.</p>.<p>Ahead of the tournament, the squad had a camp in Chennai before it travelled to Germany to train with its national team.</p>.<p>Despite the lack of a head coach since the 2019 Asian Games, Indian players have been producing impressive on the professional circuit.</p>.<p>The men's team had ended a 60-year wait by winning a historic bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta.</p>.<p>The contingent's campaign got even better Sharath and Manika Batra, who won four medals at the preceding Commonwealth Games, bagged a surprise bronze in the mixed doubles.</p>.<p>Nine qualifying spots are on offer at the ITTF organised event. A top-eight finish guarantees Olympic qualification.</p>.<p>Korea is the top seed in men's category, followed by Chinese Taipei, Sweden, France and India.</p>.<p>Hong Kong is the top seed in women's event, followed by Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Korea and Romania.</p>