‘Feel responsible to help younger generation’: Sharath Kamal

Achanta Sharath Kamal

India table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal, 41, is undergoing mixed feelings. While he will be a tad disappointed as skipper of the Chennai Lions to lose the final of franchise-based Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4 to Goa Challengers by a close 7-8 margin in Pune, he is very excited to spearhead India's challenge for the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China (September 23 to October 8). And having achieved a historic double bronze in the last edition of the continental showpiece event at Jakarta, Indonesia, the veteran paddler is keen to repeat the act if not better it in China.

The 10-time National champion and seven-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist took time off from his preparation for the Asian Games for a special edition of mid-day's Meet Your Icon where he spoke in detail on topics ranging from how he picked up a TT racquet at the age of three to that epic moment of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Asia's best TT stars on the Jakarta podium.

Edited excerpts from the interview

We've learnt that your father introduced you to the game. Tell us about those initial days when you couldn't even reach the table being a kid...
My father and uncle, who were state-level table tennis players, began coaching back in the 1980s when they felt that, as players, they couldn't develop more. They wanted to stay in the game and thought that coaching would be something they'd like to do and also earn a livelihood. I was born in 1982 and was almost three when I started accompanying them to the clubs in the evenings. I probably started playing at the age of four, but I could've been two when I started off with a racquet in my hand. So, I would just go to the club every day and enjoy hitting [the ball] with other kids. The assistant coaches and older guys would carry me up and I would sit on the table and knock balls. I still have a lot of them coming to me and saying, ‘I carried you in the beginning when you were a kid.' Slowly, by the time I was eight or nine, I started taking a liking to the sport and wanted to play. By the time I was 15 or 16, I had to decide whether I wanted to go pro [professional]. Post-Class XI, I decided to take up commerce and play TT.

You are six feet one. Does being tall make it tougher as a paddler because you have to bend more at the table?
Yes. I always need to push myself to stay bent and stay lower so that I can shuffle faster. The game is one of the quickest in the world, so I need to be quick, but being taller doesn't help that much. When you are shorter, it's much better. That's why the Chinese are good at this sport. At the same time, I enjoy a wider reach and can get to the net easily. In fact, one of my best shots [are executed] when the ball is closer to the net and I get in there and whack it with my forehand. I can use my height for that particular shot.

You've played in the German Bundesliga and the Swedish league. Could you tell us about those experiences?
While I was growing up, Chetan Baboor [former national champion] was playing in Sweden. He was a student of my father and uncle. He told them that if Sharath needs to do well at the international level, Europe is the place he needs to be. Europe had good infrastructure that had been running for many years, so I had to go there. Once I became national champion, they [table tennis federation and Indian government] gave me permission to go and train there. Chetan helped me find a club. Now, it's the other way around with the UTT bringing in the world's best players to India. Twenty years ago, I went in search of this in Europe, while UTT has brought that for the youngsters to India.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE | Aiming to bring out my best at Asian Games: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Just like how the franchise-based Hockey India League and the Indian Premier League have helped our hockey players and cricketers respectively, tells us how Ultimate Table Tennis is helping our Indian paddlers?
It is not just for the youngsters, it is also for the senior players. The UTT has given a lot of confidence as we [Indian players] are able to train with some of the best players in the world. We can talk to them, dine with them and then hopefully, beat them. Today, we have come to a level where we don't just play against these players abroad, but also beat them or come close to beating them often. When UTT started in 2017, I was the flag-bearer for India. All the other Indians were not so strong. UTT gave them the right exposure. It gave them the right confidence to get to the International level. Once we started beating a couple of foreign players in India, we thought if we can do it here, we can do it abroad too. In the first season, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra played well to rise in the ranks. The next season, Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath did very well. The third season, Sutirtha Mukherjee did very well. And this season we have seen Diya Chitale doing well; Archana and Manav too.

Mentoring has been an important part of your career over the last few years. Tell us about that.
I feel responsible to help the younger generation because, as I grew up I realised I wasted quite some time to get where I wanted. Time is very crucial to any sportsperson. A player's shelf life is very short at the elite level, so I always feel the need to groom youngsters, who will take my place up in the coming years. People keep asking me when I'm going to retire. I really don't know. I'm still able to play and I feel I can still offer a lot of expertise to the younger players. I have been helping the younger players throughout my career. Even at the UTT, many players come up to me for advice or to find a solution. A short chat with them helps them gain confidence and clarity.

You've achieved almost equal success in doubles as you have in singles. What do you enjoy more and why?
Doubles came naturally to me, especially in my earlier years. I'm a team guy. I grew up in a team environment and that's why I like to perform my best in a team. In doubles, I've always been doing well. In 2010, we won the first gold medal at the CWG. I adapt to situations well and make my partners very comfortable and not let them be dependent on me. When we were playing in Birmingham [2002], I was playing [mixed doubles] with Sreeja [Akula]. She was so overwhelmed, too nervous since she was playing with her idol, her Sharath bhaiyya. She didn't want to miss and didn't want to make any mistakes, so she was not going to take any chances and that made it very difficult for me. She needs to help me set up too. Of course, I will set up the game and try and finish some balls when I can, but in doubles, you can't clap with one hand. So, both of us need to gel well so her coach and I spent time making her understand that and, in the end, we had a fantastic result.

You have won seven CWG gold medals. Is there a favourite or special one among those?
It's difficult to say which one is special. In 2006 [Melbourne], when I won it, I was the new kid on the block, long hair and stuff. From there, getting onto 2010, another gold medal in home conditions [at the New Delhi CWG]. There was a lot of pressure at home and a lot of support too, but you had to deliver. Then, 16 years apart, I won three more gold medals. I didn't expect to win three, but it turned out to be a dream run for me. So, it's tough to pick a favourite.

Tell us about the feeling when you won that historic team bronze and the mixed doubles bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games...
The Asian Games are equivalent to the Olympics as table tennis is completely dominated by Asian countries. There are a few European countries, but it's dominated by Asians. When we won in Jakarta in 2018, we believed in ourselves. We knew that with a favourable draw and all three of us doing well on that particular day, there was always an outside chance. Then we got the favourable draw and got Japan, and Sathiyan, Harmeet and I had all beaten some of them. So, we delivered. With that win, I was very confident and we went on to win the mixed doubles bronze too. A lot of people didn't expect this success. These medals have special value. It was the first time in 62 years that India had won a medal at the Asian Games. I felt great while standing on the podium with the Chinese players because now we also were among the best players in the world. That's a lot of value.

Indian TT players have still not reached professional heights like badminton players? Is there a funding issue or is there not enough support from the government?
If you compare badminton to table tennis, then badminton had Pullela Gopichand, who was a Top 10 in the world, Prakash Padukone was among the Top 10 in the world and probably even World No. 1 at one stage. But in table tennis, we are around 200. I was the lone player in the Top 100 for the last 15 years. We've never had players in the world's Top 70. I was the first player to break into the Top 30s. Sathiyan got better, reaching 24. The comparison is not fair because in Indian badminton when you get introduced to the international rankings, you are directly in the Top 100 or 150. However, when a junior [TT] player gets introduced to the rankings, we start around 400 in the world. So we [TT players] have come a very long way in the last 10 years. In fact, we've had greater success than badminton. We don't have Olympic medals, but while badminton players have climbed from 50 to the Top 5, we have come from 400 to 40.

You recently spoke about the need for a High Performance Director in Indian TT. Also, there has been no coach for five years now. Are these factors hampering Indian TT?
It doesn't look like it because we are still playing well. It also gives the federation an excuse that these guys are still doing well [laughs]. But all said and done, we need a coach. Not just for us, we need a panel of coaches who can work from the top to bottom for all age categories so that the grooming happens - the transition from U-17 to U-19 and U-19 to the senior level. So, we need coaches, a structure and a High Performance Director. I'm sure the current federation is looking at this. Hopefully, we'll have a good set up in the next few months.

Do you prefer an Indian or a foreign coach?
We need to have one foreign coach. All the Indian coaches have players and run clubs. These coaches don't get professional contracts in the national team, so since he's not being paid, it could give rise to conflict of interest. So, if you have a foreign coach, he will be neutral. After that, you can groom a few Indian coaches and then build a structure around that. But in the beginning, you need foreign expertise.

After the bronze at the 2018 Asian Games, do the Chinese take us seriously?
Very much. Before the Asian Games, we had a training camp in China. One day, we got permission to train with their national team. The Chinese players were not taking us seriously. But then, we played some matches with them and though we lost, the way we played and seeing how close we got to them, they actually stood in a line and actually clapped for us. Now, the Chinese players know all of us by our names. Before that, they never cared about Indian players, but now they know the players and the style we play.

This will be your fifth Asian Games. Is there a target?
We would like to defend those two bronze medals and if possible add one or two. Also, two events have
been added - the men's doubles and women's doubles. In singles, I lost a very close match in the last 16. So, the draw will be crucial.

How is your training shaping up?
I started my preparation for the Asian Games at the end of March. That's my singular focus. So, March, April and May, it was more about the foundation, building my body and building the base. June onwards, I started focusing on getting fitter. The UTT is a fantastic practice ground. I'm happy that it [UTT] happened at this point so we can prep ourselves for the Asian Games. We are in the final phase of our preparation now. This last phase is more of a match phase, trying to peak at the right time. I'm not at an age where I can peak and stay there for three to four months. So, I need it to go according to plan.