At 35, India’s star paddler A. Sharath Kamal hasn’t shown signs of slowing down. Ranked 48th in the world in men’s singles, he has set his eyes on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Arriving at the Chennai Airport on Tuesday to a grand welcome after bagging three medals (men’s team gold, men’s singles bronze and men’s doubles silver with G. Sathiyan) in the recently concluded CWG in Gold Coast, Sharath spoke to The Hindu on different topics.
Excerpts
This was India’s best-ever CWG (eight medals). How was the experience?
After the women won the team gold, there was immense pressure on us. Had England been in the final, it would have been difficult. Even though the 2006 Melbourne Games remain special, Gold Coast will also be right there at the top. No doubt, it was a great campaign for us.
On winning the bronze medal match against England’s Samuel Walker?
Before the match, our coach [Massimo Costantini] said ‘don’t play for yourself or for me, just think of the billions of people who want the medal. Take it in the larger interest [of the sport]. That’s how you can motivate yourself’. My coach and uncle [Muralidhara Rao] always say that.
Do you think India has improved in table tennis since the last CWG in 2014?
Yes, at the CWG level we have become a stronger nation. We were the top seeds in the men’s team event and in men’s singles, Sathiyan was the second seed and I was fourth. That is because everybody is playing well. Earlier, I was the only one. Now Sathiyan, Harmeet [Desai], Sanil Shetty and Amalraj have come up in the rankings. While other countries are growing, India is improving rapidly.
At 35, Gao Ning has put on weight, but was still able to win the men’s singles gold?
Probably the [intense] training he has had as an youngster helped him. But, the average age of the medal winner in CWG singles is 33. Gao Ning is 35, Aruna is nearing 30, myself 35. It is becoming like that at the world level, too, where Timo Boll (ranked second) is 37 years. [Vladimir] Samsanov is 40 and is in the top-40. If you are able to be physically fit, you can go on till you are 40. I am looking at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
On Manika Batra stealing the show at CWG
It is thanks to Peter Engel, who came down as a India’s foreign coach in 2014. He made her play a lot of forehands. And the result is there for all to see. She has become more aggressive on the forehand and it was Engel who transformed her game. She was a very big surprise.
