Indian Table Tennis Champion Achanta Sharath Kamal Set to Retire
India’s Table Tennis legend, Achanta Sharath Kamal made a shocking announcement regarding his impending retirement from the sport at the WTT Star Contender 2025 Inaugural Press Conference event, which took place on March 5 in Chennai.
Undoubtedly one of the most decorated TT players on the Indian soil, Sharath announced his retirement stating the upcoming tournament, which is slated to take place on March 25, will be his last outing as a professional player.
He is hopeful that his long-standing career shall serve as an inspiration for the younger generations and wishes for them to fill the massive gap which will be created with post his departure.
Going down the memory lane, Kamal’s journey has been nothing short of a spectacular ride. The athlete has an enviable bank of 13 Commonwealth Games medals to his credit, out of which seven are gold medals, a truly massive feat to accomplish.
He also clinched two bronze medals at the Asian Games, and four bronze at the Asian Championships. No Indian table tennis player has graced the Olympics more times than Sharath with is five appearances, ultimately culminating as India’s male flag-bearer at the Paris Olympics 2024 event, which was held last year.
A record ten-time national champion, Sharah has managed to break the shackles for table tennis through his mastery over the game and will now look to do the same on the home soil too, at the WTT Star Contender Chennai Championship.
The long-standing career graph has witnessed umpteen highs and lows. The Indian star, who won his first national title back in 2003, became the first table tennis player from India to win an ITTF Pro Tour title after bagging the Egypt Open 2010 win, by defeating Hong Kong’s Li Ching in the final.
“The event in Chennai will inspire the younger generations, and I hope people will come in big numbers to support us, which will see Table Tennis’ popularity grow even further. I hope it inspires and helps younger players grow, and perhaps someone can grow into my boots here sooner or later.” Kamal remarked at the official press meet occurrence.
The son of legendary coach Srinivas Rao, Kamal is one of the most respected athletes across all the sports played in India. Currently ranked 42nd globally, Sharath maintains his sturdy position as the top-ranked men’s singles player in the WTT standings and has consistently proven his prowess on court.
The revered paddler highlighted on the growing popularity of table tennis as a sport and hoped that with time new players would emerge and choose to make it their career choice to continue the legacy he has created.
“Table Tennis is slowly growing into a popular sport in recent times. Historically, it has been a regression sport, but in recent times myself, Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and I have gone on to win international medals, and the sport is slowly gaining popularity,” he further added in his interview speech.
Recognizing his rewarding contribution to the field of sports, the Government of India had felicitated the modern-day legend with the fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri in 2019 and India’s highest sporting honor, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award in 2022.
My Perspective:
As the popular belief goes, legends never fade away, their glory remains etched for posterity. With Achanta Sharath too, it is the case. Looking at the trajectory he has built, Sharath has most definitely paved a path for the younger stars to create a mark for themselves and take the Indian table tennis domain a notch higher.
Post his retirement as a player, he can choose to join the Indian contingent as a coach or mentor, which will certainly prove to be a successful stint given his deep insight and game acumen. Whether he decides to try his hand in the capacity of a new role or not is something only he can comment on, but with the indelible mark created by him, it is only befitting for the Indian Table Tennis Federation to coax him and make use of the leadership quality.
Sharath’s final act as a professional player will commence from March 25, as Chennai also make its debut as a host for the prestigious WTT Star Contender tournament. This opportunity will give his fans a chance to witness the legend in action before he bids farewell to the sport.
The event will be live streamed on the worldtabletennis.com website from March 25 onwards and all the TT enthusiasts out there can watch their favorite players create magic in the ‘Watch Live’ section.
