Indian paddlers were handed a relatively easier draw in the Olympic Table Tennis tournament, beginning on Saturday.
Commonwealth champion Achanta Sharath Kamal was pitted against Mohamed Boudjadja of Algeria in the first round of the men's singles event while Mouma Das faces Nanthana Komwong of Thailand in her opener in the women's singles.
Kamal, who had set himself a moderate target of at least reaching the second round of the championship, will be the strong favourite against the Alegerian, ranked 20 places below him in the championship.
If the national champion, ranked 49th in the event, clears the first hurdle then he will bump into 25th-ranked Chak Lai Ko of Hong Kong in the second round and may have a potential third round face-off with 14th seed Petr Korbel of Czech Republic in the third round.
The first round tie will not be that easy for Mouma but on current form the 51st ranked Indian has the potential to get the better of her 43rd ranked Thai opponent.
She could then have a tough opponent in 19th-ranked Nicole Stuse of Germany in the second round.
According to the format of the tournament, the top 16 seeds receive a bye till the round of 32.
