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- WATCH: Rekha Gupta, Ashish Sood attend Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026 opening ceremony in Delhi
WATCH: Rekha Gupta, Ashish Sood attend Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026 opening ceremony in Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Education Minister Ashish Sood attended the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026 at Thyagraj Stadium.
Published On Jul 27, 2026, 10:58 AM IST
Last UpdatedJul 27, 2026, 10:58 AM IST
New Delhi: The Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships are back after a seven-year hiatus with India set to host the 2026 edition in the national capital. The tournament will bring together top paddlers from across the Commonwealth, and the hosts will be aiming to continue the dominance they displayed at the previous edition.
New Delhi to host Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
The 2026 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships will be held at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi from July 27 to August 2. More than 25 countries are expected to participate in the week-long event.
The opening ceremony will be attended by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Education Minister Ashish Sood.
Interestingly, the tournament is being held at the same time as the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where table tennis is not part of the sports programme.
India look to defend historic clean sweep
India enter the tournament as the defending champions after creating history in the previous edition held in Cuttack in 2019.
The Indian team won all seven gold medals, becoming only the third nation to achieve a complete clean sweep in the history of the championships. England managed the feat in the first three editions (1971, 1973 and 1975), while Hong Kong China repeated it in 1983.
With home conditions on their side, India will now look to repeat that remarkable performance.
Olympians headline India’s squad
India have named a strong squad featuring four Olympians – Sreeja Akula, G Sathiyan, Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai.
Harmeet Desai returns as the defending men’s singles champion, while Manush Shah, currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s doubles alongside Manav Thakkar, is also part of the squad.
Among Indian men’s singles players, Manav Thakkar is ranked world No. 38, followed closely by Manush Shah at No. 40.
Manika Batra misses out
One of the biggest talking points is the absence of Manika Batra from India’s squad.
The experienced paddler, who has won four Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships gold medals and remains India’s highest-ranked women’s singles player, has not been selected for the tournament.
However, six members of India’s historic 2019 title-winning squad have retained their places, including Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sreeja Akula and Sutirtha Mukherjee.
England and Australia among major challengers
India are expected to face strong competition from several countries.
England’s squad includes experienced players Sam Walker, Tin-Tin Ho and Maria Tsaptsinos, while Australia will be led by Olympians Nicholas Lum and Minhyung Jee.
The tournament will feature seven medal events:
- Men’s Team
- Women’s Team
- Men’s Singles
- Women’s Singles
- Men’s Doubles
- Women’s Doubles
- Mixed Doubles
India squads for Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026
| Men’s Team | Women’s Team |
| Manav Thakkar | Syndrela Das |
| Manush Shah | Sreeja Akula |
| Sathiyan Gnanasekaran | Yashaswini Ghorpade |
| Harmeet Desai | Sutirtha Mukherjee |
| Payas Jain | Swastika Ghosh |
Where to watch Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026 live?
Fans in India can watch the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026 live on the Freedom Global Sports Network Pro YouTube channel.
There will be no live television broadcast of the tournament in India.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta reacts at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2026
Here’s what Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said: “This is the biggest sports event of its kind to be held in Delhi, hosted by the Delhi government. My heartiest congratulations to all the athletes. Congratulations to our Sports Ministry for organizing this wonderful event.“
“Today is definitely a moment of great pride, and Delhi is fully preparing itself to provide facilities to sportspersons, including sports infrastructure, and to continuously create an environment in Delhi where our youth and students can participate in active sports,” she added.
Ashish Sood – Education and Sports Minister, Delhi Government reacts
Here’s what Ashish Sood – Education and Sports Minister, Delhi Government said: “Delhi is proud. It’s a testament to Delhi’s evolving sports ecosystem that Delhi is hosting the Commonwealth Nations Table Tennis Championship today. Players from 25 countries are participating. Delhi’s evolving sports ecosystem“
“Where stadiums are focused on player infrastructure, sports infrastructure on training, and sports injury recovery, this new sports culture has been created under the government of Mrs. Rekha Gupta.“
“To further strengthen and enhance the ecosystem Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created in the country through sports, where athletes are cared for. Following in this same footsteps, Delhi has also launched scholarships for players playing at the state and national level,” he said.
“And since coming to power, we have released over ₹40,000,000 in awards that had been pending for years. This ecosystem continues to inspire our athletes and our youth,” he added
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