Interview: Emotional Sharath Kamal on retirement, India's table tennis growth

Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal on Thursday (March 27) admitted being very emotional as he prepared to play his final tournament – WTT Star Contender 2025 in front of his home fans in Chennai.

Also read: Sharath Kamal's last hurrah in Chennai

The 42-year-old Sharath, a five-time Olympian, will play in both men’s singles and doubles at the prestigious World Table Tennis (WTT) event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, the same venue where he played his first national and international tournaments more than two decades ago.

Sharath will be first seen in action in the doubles, partnering with Snehit Suravajjula, and later in singles, on Thursday evening.

Also read: Tamil Nadu pair enters WTT Star Contender men's doubles main draw

Ahead of his final tournament, Sharath spoke exclusively with The Federal in Chennai and said it is an emotional moment of finish his 27-year journey in front of his family, friends, and fans. Sharath said he is happy with his career and also lauded the youngsters and predicted that India would reach ‘greater heights’ soon in table tennis.

Excerpts from the exclusive interview with Sharath.

Question: How emotional are you entering your last tournament – WTT Star Contender in your home city, Chennai?

Sharath Kamal: It is getting to me. I was pretty excited all the while about the retirement and the last match happening in Chennai. I will be able to play in front of my family and friends. My fans get one last chance to watch me play. I was excited for how this event (WTT Star Contender 2025) would be. As it is coming closer, it is becoming more and more emotional with a lot of fans, and friends calling me up and saying ‘This is going to be your last match. We won’t be able to see you play again’. It is getting to me, but at the same time, I want to give my best performance in this tournament. I hope I go deeper into the draws (both men’s singles and doubles) and give the fans more excitement than they would expect from any other normal tournament.

Q: Could you talk to us about the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai and your memories of the venue?

Sharath: As a kid, I came to the Nehru stadium for summer camps. I was 14 or 15 years old at the time. Just looking at the massive structure that was, because prior to that we were playing in a small hall with three tables, and suddenly you come to a stadium which can fill 20-24 tables. It was a great experience training here first, and my first national tournament was here, the senior nationals in 1998, I got into the main draw. As a small kid, I was really happy that I could be in the main draw. And, in 1999, my first international tournament was here, the Asian Junior Championships. I represented India Team B. And now, after 26 years, I will be finishing in this very stadium where my international journey started. That is where it all gets very emotional. I came to the Nehru stadium as a small kid not knowing what is ahead in the future. Now, here I am leaving back a legacy in the field of table tennis.

Q: Looking back on when you started playing table tennis, and now, you must be satisfied it is in good hands in India and the sport has grown.

Sharath: When I started playing table tennis, the kind of mindset the society had on sport, and now, it has completely changed. From an amateurish playing, we have come to the professional circuit. A lot of youngsters from India are doing extremely well in the international level. We have had the world number one in age categories across boys and girls. I am really happy that we have come this far. When I first played my first world championship for the country, India was ranked 36 in the world, and in recent years, we reached the heights of being in the top 8 in the world. We also qualified for the Olympics in the team events for the first time (Paris 2024). The women played in the team event quarterfinals in the Paris Olympics. I am happy to see how far the sport has grown in India. And, I am pretty sure that greater heights are not so far from where we are now. The youngsters are picking it up. My role (after retirement) would be to transfer my knowledge and the experience I gained over the years, to them. And, also build a clear structure to help them to transition from the age categories to the senior levels.