India Drawn in Group F in Both Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis at Asian Games 2026

India’s men’s and women’s table tennis teams will begin their Asian Games 2026 campaigns in Group F, with the two squads facing remarkably similar group-stage line-ups in Aichi-Nagoya.

The women’s team has been drawn alongside Singapore, Pakistan, and Indonesia, while the men’s team will face Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia. The overlapping groups mean that India and Pakistan, as well as India and Indonesia, will meet in both the men’s and women’s team competitions.

The team events will be played from September 20 to 24, before the individual competitions take centre stage from September 23 to 28.

India will field a 10-member table tennis contingent, comprising five men and five women. The men’s squad features Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and Payas Jain, while the women’s team consists of Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das. (The Times of India)

The Indian men have been placed in a four-team Group F alongside Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia. The group-stage format will see the teams battle for positions that determine progression into the Round of 16. In four-team groups, the top three teams advance, while groups containing three teams send their top two into the knockout stage.

India’s squad combines significant international experience with a younger generation looking to make an impact at their first major Asian Games campaign.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai bring extensive experience to the team, while Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah have emerged as important figures in Indian men’s table tennis. Payas Jain completes the five-member squad. The current squad has also been selected with the doubles events in mind, with Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah forming one men's doubles combination, while Sathiyan and Harmeet are another.

The men’s team will therefore have multiple avenues to make an impact across the Asian Games programme. India’s table tennis history at the Asian Games includes a men’s team bronze medal at Jakarta 2018. The 2026 squad will now attempt to add another team medal to that record.

Women’s team gets Singapore, Pakistan and Indonesia

India’s women have also been placed in a four-team Group F, where they will face Singapore, Pakistan and Indonesia. The squad is led by Sreeja Akula, with Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and 17-year-old Syndrela Das completing the team.

Sreeja comes into the tournament as India’s reigning national champion and one of the country's leading women's singles players. Yashaswini is also entered in the singles competition, while Diya, Sutirtha and Syndrela provide additional options for the team and doubles events. 

The presence of Syndrela Das is one of the notable features of the women's squad. The 17-year-old has emerged as one of India's promising young paddlers and will make her Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya.

The women’s team will be looking to build on India's recent performances in continental competition and add to the country's table tennis medal tally.

One of the biggest talking points surrounding India's women’s table tennis contingent is the absence of Manika Batra and Ayhika Mukherjee from the final squad. Batra, one of India's most recognised women's singles players, is not part of the five-member team travelling to Japan. Her exclusion had previously generated discussion around the selection process. The final women's squad instead comprises Sreeja, Yashaswini, Diya, Sutirtha and Syndrela.

Ayhika Mukherjee, meanwhile, was part of the women's doubles bronze-medal-winning combination with Sutirtha at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 but is not included in India's 2026 squad. India will therefore have a different women's line-up as it attempts to build on that previous podium finish.

China and Japan also face group-stage challenges.

Elsewhere in the draw, defending powerhouse China has been grouped with Macao in both the men's and women's competitions, while hosts Japan have also been drawn with Uzbekistan in both events. China enters the Asian Games with a formidable record in table tennis. The nation has dominated the sport at the Asian Games, winning all available table tennis gold medals at the 1978, 2010 and 2018 editions.

Japan, meanwhile, will have home support behind its players as it attempts to challenge China's dominance.

For India, the immediate focus will be on negotiating Group F before turning attention towards the knockout rounds.

The table tennis competition will begin with the team events on September 20, with the team phase running through September 24. The individual competitions overlap from September 23 before continuing through September 28. With the Round of 16 following the group stage, India's immediate objective will be to secure progression before shifting focus towards the knockout rounds.

The men's and women's teams enter Aichi-Nagoya with different combinations from previous Asian Games editions, but both have experienced players capable of handling the pressure of major international competition.

For Indian table tennis, the next few days will provide an early opportunity to establish itself at the 2026 Asian Games. With Pakistan and Indonesia appearing in both Group F draws, there will be familiar opponents across the men's and women's competitions and potentially plenty at stake when India's paddlers begin their campaigns in Japan.