Sharath Kamal says a podium finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics is tough but not impossible

India’s ace table tennis player, Achanta Sharath Kamal, hopes to bag that elusive Olympics medal as he is set to make his fifth Olympic appearance when the Summer Games begin in Paris on July 26.

Sharath Kamal led the Indian team to a Paris Olympics berth through the world ranking after the Indian men’s team finished in the round-of-16 at the World Table Tennis Championships earlier this year.

Sharath has won 13 Commonwealth Games medals, three Asian Championship medals and two Asian Games medals but an Olympic medal has long eluded him.

The Chennai-based paddler made his Olympics debut in the 2004 Athens edition and feels the 2024 Paris Olympics is the best chance for a medal. “Back then (when he made his debut in 2004), I didn’t know what getting into the Olympics was. But I have built up into the player I am right now, and hopefully, in my fifth Olympics, I have a chance to get that medal. And once that happens, I can be truly satisfied with my career,” he said in a select media interaction organised by Timelinks after a function to honour the paddler for competing in his fifth Olympic Games.

The 41-year-old, who will mostly be competing in his last Olympics, said he believes in his process and hopes the results will follow. “I am pretty sure I haven’t left any stone unturned. I have done everything possible from my side, and I hope the results will follow,” the world number 34 rank player stated.

Speaking about how Italian coach Massimo Costantini has been working with the Indian team, Sharath said the Italian’s influence on Indian table tennis has been massive but added that a podium finish is a tough task.

Costantini coached the Indian team in three stints—first for one year in 2009 and later from 2016 to 2018 and now—and the Indian team reaped rich rewards from his coaching stints.

He helmed the Indian team that won a record haul of eight medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, that included a singles medal, and two medals at the Asian Games.

“He (Costantini) brings a lot of confidence from around himself and to the team. It is something that I require since a lot of us are working individually. But how can we get it together, Max has been helping us in achieving it. But to speak of the reality, a podium finish is going to be an uphill task. It’s going to be very tough, and we are apparently seeded 14th or 15th, making the task even more uphill. But, we are optimistic as well because with the kind of form all of us have been playing. The girls are going to go a long way in the Olympics, same for the boys. We want to do it,” he added.

Sharath is also going to be India’s flag bearer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, alongside badminton player PV Sindhu.