Site Products

ITTF Americas: Jha and Kumar Both Advance to Semifinals at Olympic Qualifier

(by Steve Hopkins)

Without TeamUSA qualifying for the Men’s team event at the Olympics, our men were forced to compete in individual qualifiers.  After proceeding through the first round, both Nikhil Kumar and Kanak Jha are competing this week in the ITTF Americas Olympic Qualification event in Lima, Peru.  The men present were split into two groups, with the winner of each group claiming one of the four spots at the Olympics.  Each player has two chances to qualify – winning one of the two events played Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, or winning on of the two events to be played on Friday/Saturday.

Nikhil Kumar was placed in Group KO1.  He won his first match on Tuesday against Tyrese Knight of Barbados 4-0.  Nikhil then moved into the Quarterfinals where he defeated second seeded Brian Afanador 4-0.  Nikhil will next face Alberto Mino (the third seed), and if he wins, he will play the winner of Nicolas Burgos (the top seed) and Santiago Lorenzo (the second seed) – with the prize being a coveted spot at the Olympics in Paris.

Kanak Jha was placed in Group KO2.  He won his first match 4-0 over Diego Orantes of El Salvador.  Kanak next faced top seeded Andy Pereira, and managed a come-from behind 4-3 win.   Pereira led 2-0 and 3-1 before Kanak ran off three games in a row to win. Kanak’s next opponent is Marcelo Aguirre.  In the other Semifinal Horacio Cifuentes will face Marcos Madrid.

More matches are scheduled for Wednesday – and for those that don’t win, this will all reset for another round at the end of the week.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.

Latest News

MLTT Featured Team: Chicago Wind

July 14, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Chicago Wind plan to blow over competition in the upcoming Major League… Read More

Wang Chuqin and Zhu Yuling

July 13, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Wang Chuqin made quick work of Tomokazu Harimoto in the Men’s Singles Final of the… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: California Table Tennis

July 13, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Nestled in Rosemead, California, at the heart of the San Gabriel Valley near Los Angeles,… Read More

United States Smash: Harimoto and Chuqin to Clash in Finals

July 13, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Fans in Las Vegas were treated to two epic Semifinal matches on Saturday at the… Read More

United States Smash: Semifinals

July 13, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) When all was said and done, it was the top three seeds (and the sixth… Read More

Nishant Lebaka – Forehand Smash with Short Pips

July 13, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Nishant Lebaka is executing the Forehand Smash with short pips… Read More

Serve Into the Body

July 11, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: Serve long serve to elbow, Robot plays topspin to Backhand, Backhand spin block down the line.… Read More

Playing Kids

July 8, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Let’s face it; they’re probably faster than you. They might have a coach working with… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.