Table Tennis
India's veteran Table Tennis umpire Mangesh Mopkar selected to officiate at the Tokyo Olympics
India's lone official at Table Tennis will be veteran umpire Mangesh Mopkar
Mangesh Mopkar(back row-extreme right) (source-the live nagpur)
The Olympic qualification rounds for various sports are coming to a close. With athletes gearing up for their events, preparations are also underway for match officials to head to Tokyo. Another Indian who will head to Tokyo this year in the capacity of an official is Indian table tennis umpire Mangesh Mopkar. The table tennis events are scheduled to begin from 25th July and Mangesh Mopkar will be officiating the games in the capacity of a table umpire.
He is a qualified blue badge umpire and has previously officiated several international tournaments where he has a brilliant track record. His experience is sure to come in handy at this year's event given that he has been India's top official for the past several years.
His first chance at officiating major tournaments came in 2011 and despite not being selected for the previous editions of the Rio and London Olympics, he has managed to bag a quote at this year's event. He was selected by the Table Tennis Federation of India despite there being a request by the Olympic Organising Committee for one male and one female umpire from India.
This will also be the final time that he officiates at the Olympics as the mandated rule allows for an umpire to officiate only once at the Olympics. The aim behind this is to provide umpires with a chance that rarely comes during their career and also helps enhance the sport of Table Tennis in different countries.
The Indian paddlers who are headed to the Olympics are Sutirtha Mukherjee, S Ganasekaran, Sharath Kamal, and Manika Batra.
