Yoga and practise: How table tennis champ Sharath Kamal is chasing his Olympics dream
The Hindu
Eyeing for glory, table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal next hopes to take the sport he dearly loves to the masses
The year 2011 was one of the worst in paddler Sharath Kamal’s career. His world rankings plummeted to 94, the lowest ever in his career. He started losing Indian national tournaments, a rarity for a veteran player like him. “It was the lowest of lows,” he recalls, “But I believe that you can appreciate the high only if you see the low.” Exactly a decade later, Sharath will represent the country at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to kickstart on July 23. He firmly believes that this year he will realise his dream of bagging the prestigious medal. “I’m as close as can be this time,” says the Chennai resident. This will be Sharath’s fourth trip to the Olympics, considered the holy grail for all sportspersons. “It [the Olympics] is what the whole world is talking about. The stress levels go higher here as there are a lot of expectations from you. This time, it is a lot different because interaction with other sportspersons is going to be minimal [due to COVID-19 protocols].”More Related News