"My last Olympic Games match here...": Sharath Kamal after India's loss to China in men's team event
Aug 06, 2024
Paris [France], August 6 : Following his side's loss to China in the men's team competition at the Paris Olympics, veteran Indian table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal announced that it was his last Olympics match for the country.
The Indian men's table tennis team's campaign at the Paris Olympics came to an end on Tuesday as the trio of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar lost to China 0-3 in their round of 16 match.
"Sharath Kamal writes his final Olympic chapter! Hear it out on what's next for the veteran paddler!," said a post from Olympic Khel.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-U6mKSgplM/
"My last Olympic Games match here. I am really happy with the way I could finish my Olympic campaign here. Achanta Kamal and table tennis, there is a clear legacy that is behind so I really like how it is," he said in the video posted on Olympic Khel's Instagram page.
He also clarified while he will not play Olympics in future, he will still be active in the table tennis circuit for his nation and in other tournaments.
"Still have some more years of table tennis in me. I am not going to quit directly here. So, the transition is going to be tough, but I think we are all well prepared for that," he added.
Kamal competed in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics but faced second-round exits in singles competition. In Rio 2016 Olympics, he made a first-round exit as well. His best performance came in the Tokyo Olympics, where he reached the third round and lost to the Chinese legend and eventual gold medallist Ma Long.
The 42-year-old has won a lot of medals at Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. He has 13 CWG medals, including seven gold, with two singles top prizes. At the Asian Games, the veteran has won two bronze medals in the men's team and mixed doubles competition.
