Kathmandu: Table tennis player Syantu Shrestha has booked a place in Paris Olympics, 2024 through competitive means.    
Shrestha defeated Nepal's Sanyog Kapali 4-3 in the men's singles final match of the South Asian Qualifying Tournament held on Wednesday at the table tennis hall in Lanchaur to become the third Nepali athlete ever to qualify for the Olympics through the qualifying round.    
Earlier, Taekwondo players Sangina Baidya and Deepak Bista had passed the qualifying stage to compete in the Olympics. Baidhya was selected for Athens Olympics in 2004 and Bista for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.    
During the table tennis match held on Wednesday, Shrestha won the first set 11-7 but lost the second set 8-11. After winning the next two sets with a score of 11-7 and 11-6, Shrestha lost the fifth and sixth sets 8-11 and 8-11 respectively. Shrestha confirmed his place in the Olympics after winning the final set 11-9.    
Earlier, Shrestha had defeated Sri Lanka's Chamira Ginige and Sanyog had defeated Sri Lanka's Jayasanka de Silva and made it to the finals. -- RSS