A legendary table tennis career that started at the Asian Junior Championships in Chennai in 1999 is set to have a serendipitous ending as Sharath Kamal, India’s most decorated paddler, will retire at this month’s WTT Star Contender in front of his home crowd.
For more than two decades, Sharath has been the torchbearer for Indian table tennis. He clinched 13 Commonwealth Games medals, including seven golds. In 2018, he led the Indian men’s team that won a historic bronze medal at the Asian Games while pairing up with Manika Batra to grab another bronze in mixed doubles.
Last year in Paris, Sharath represented the country at the Olympics for the fifth time.
However, the 42-year-old feels now is the right time to bid farewell to the sport and fulfil his dream of winning an Olympic medal through someone else.
“I played my first international tournament in Chennai, and I will be playing my last one also in Chennai. This will be my last tournament for the national team and as a professional athlete,” said Sharath during a press conference on Wednesday.
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“We are looking forward to setting up a High Performance Centre in Tamil Nadu, nurturing the younger talents and hopefully, looking at winning Olympic medals in the years to come. If you look at my career, I have the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medals. The Olympic Games medal is one that I don’t have in my cupboard, and I hope I can live that dream through the younger talents of Tamil Nadu,” said Sharath.
On his expectations from his final tournament, he said, “I want to do well, but also it’s one last time with the fans. My family, my school and college friends, everybody will be there. So, I want to give my best out there. I want to get deeper into the draw. I want to win the first few rounds so that the excitement also kicks in, not just for this year, but also for the years to come.”
