Indian table tennis is coming of age with some of our besttalents training in Europe. One of them is Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is plyinghis trade in Germany. One of India's finest all-time table tennis player andsix-time national champion feels that there is much more positivity in tabletennis in the country now, than ever before.
However, it was way back in 2004 when Indians began to taketable tennis seriously. "We won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in KualaLumpur and repeated the performance in 2006 Games, that's when table tennis gotits importance. The government put the game on priority list, there was morefunding. Ever since, things are moving swiftly," says Sharath Kamal.
"Federation has also been doing quite well as there isa talented crop of players coming from the junior ranks. Now, there is morecompetition, given that young Soumyajit Ghosh has defeated me in the nationalfinals recently. At one point of time, when I was dominating everywhere, peopleused to write it (event) off saying Sharath will win. That meant there was littlebit pressure on me. Now, it is more balanced as there is competition,"says Sharath Kamal, who is India's only player in the top 100 players of theworld.
Table tennis still struggles to make itself noticed in acountry which is gripped by cricket. So how do the authorities help the sportto attract more talents? "Most important aspect towards development ofanything is money. We need more funding. All of us did well recently becausethere was lot of funding leading to the Delhi Commonwealth Games. We trainedabroad for two years under foreign coaches, practicing with Chinese players. Weneed funding at that level. We need consistency. Nothing will happen if thereis a foreign coach here and some camps there. Moreover, the system needs to bedeveloped and focus should be laid on youth development," explains SharathKamal, who won his first national title in 2003.
Table tennis is not known to be a career option in thecountry given that there is not much money there. But Sharath Kamal says thereis a decent amount to be made if you win ranking tournament or nationalchampionships. "It is pretty decent but you cannot compare it tocricket," quipped the 30-year-old.
Sharath Kamal's best performances till date had come in2010. The Tamil Nadu paddler won US Open table tennis championship, Egypt Opentable tennis championship and also played in German major league. While SharathKamal has entered his thirties, the athletically-built paddler is determined tofinish his career as one of the finest in the world. "I want to be intothe top-30 in the world and if I am there by the next Olympic Games, then therewill be a chance to win a medal in Rio," he remarked.
A role model for young table tennis players Sharath Kamal'sadvices: "The talents have to be tapped by providing right facilities. Theyoung ones need to come out and play and enjoy the sport. Then you can go aboutcompeting.
