Two CWG singles golds 16 years apart an out of this world feeling; future of Indian TT in the right hands, says Sharath Kamal | Commonwealth Games 2022 News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Before he flew to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Sharath Kamal had categorically mentioned “I am playing my best table tennis at 40.” By the time he returned home a fortnight later, Sharath had turned those words into an astonishing three gold medals and a silver, and the haul included the coveted men’s singles triumph — a feat he incredibly last achieved on his CWG debut, way back in 2006.
Sharath recently spoke to TimesofIndia.com about this and more.
To become the country’s most successful athlete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in what was his fifth appearance at the Games is an achievement built purely on resilience and process. And the fact that his younger teammates accompanied him on the podium — for the men’s team gold, men’s doubles silver (with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran) and the mixed doubles gold (with Sreeja Akula), speaks volumes about how Sharath not only lifted his own game but also played a key role in helping others rise with him.
How he keeps doing it year after year, while continually raising the bar, is something Sharath himself can answer best, and he did that in a manner as precise as his forehand in this interview with TimesofIndia.com.
Two CWG singles gold medals 16 years apart, not many can do it…
It really is an out-of-this-world feeling. Doing it 16 years apart is a humongous task. But if you look at my graph, I have always been there. It’s not like that the other times I lost in the first rounds or the second rounds. Of course, I played the (CWG singles) final again (after 16 years), and I haven’t had a singles final in recent times, but I have been around.
This time, I was not sure if I would win a gold medal; but there was a chance that I could do it because the players above me are the players I had beaten (in the past), so I had a fair chance against them. But at the same time, (I knew) it will be very much the performance on that given day that is going to decide who the winner is.

Sharath Kamal (AP Photo)
India defended the men’s team gold medal, but you didn’t have a good start to your campaign personally, having lost your match in the final against Singapore. Did it shock you?
No, not really. At the end of the day, it’s the team match and the team has to win. It really doesn’t matter. It’s about building the team. The win in the semifinals was also an important one. It gave me a lot of confidence that I beat Nigeria’s top-seeded player (Aruna Quadri). I knew I was on the right track. That match (defeat in the final) was a one-off. It can happen, but it didn’t bother me.

Winning the mixed doubles gold with Sreeja Akula must have been equally special…
Sreeja had a great tournament (CWG). She gained a lot of confidence through the tournament. From the beginning to the end of it, she was a completely different player. The emergence of Sreeja was clearly seen. In the mixed doubles category, we combined well, had a good understanding. We both individually had good confidence that was seen on the table. It was very, very important that we could carry that form from singles into the (mixed) doubles.

Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula (PTI Photo)
Did you surprise yourself with as many as three gold medals in Birmingham?
I never thought I would win three gold medals. I was hoping I could win medals, no matter what colour. Winning 3-4 medals is what I was looking for. One or the other thing fell in place. We won the team gold, gained a lot of confidence. That ‘juggernauted’ (us) in the doubles and individual categories.
What will you credit this landmark performance to?
It’s a lot to do with peaking at the right time and gaining that confidence. It didn’t happen overnight or all of a sudden, like we didn’t know how we did it. That (sort of thing) happened in 2006. I don’t know how it happened (back then), it just did. But this time there was a clear process to peaking timely, both the body and the mind working in tandem and getting to the best level. In the end, we came out successfully.

Do you then mean to say that the Sharath of 2006 was unrestrained brilliance and the one in 2022 is all about process and planning?
Yes, very much. It’s been like that only. A lot of things were taken into consideration (this time), a lot of things were in control. We constantly worked on a kind of schedule that we will have and tried to simulate that with back-to-back matches. It was pretty much in sync with the whole thing. So everything was very well planned.

But your consistency has remained unmatched. Manika Batra had a dream 2018 CWG but couldn’t maintain that level in Birmingham. What’s the secret behind Sharath Kamal doing it year after year?
By being able to adapt and get out of the comfort zone every time, push through a challenge and constantly work ahead. I think there is a healthy internal competition, where we are trying to push each other into getting better. That is also something which is helping me.

Sharath Kamal (Reuters Photo)
You had said even before flying to Birmingham that the Paris 2024 Olympics is very much part of your next set of goals. Have you yet thought of life beyond that point?
I will stay with the game. The game is my identity. I haven’t decided what exactly I will do. But I will be there helping these kids, mentoring them, building a structure or a system for the younger generation.
As you enter the twilight of your career leading up to the Paris Olympics, how confident are you about the generation that will take over?
I don’t have to worry. It (the future of Indian TT) is in the right hands. These guys will do better than what I did. As I said, there is good bonding, good team spirit and at the same time there is good internal competition among ourselves to keep pushing each one of us ahead. These guys will do well. There is no doubt about it.