Facing Nigeria in final was a surprise
GOLDCOAST: When India last won the men’s team title in CWG table tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal played a crucial role, helping the team beat Singapore 3-2 in the final. He then won the men’s singles title too and many thought that was his best performance. When India regained the title after 12 years on Monday, Sharath again played a crucial role, winning three matches in the semi-finals against Singapore and the first singles to give India a good start in the final against Nigeria.
Excerpts
You had said a few days back that you would be surprised if India did not win a medal here. But did you expect that medal to be gold?
Yes, I expected it to be gold because we were the highestranked team here , so it was expected that we would win the title. But the semi-final against Singapore was close. We won 3-2 and it was very satisfying.
The final against Nigeria, nobody expected it to be so easy?
We were expecting England to be in the final, so facing Nigeria was a big surprise. But everything fell in place against Nigeria.
You won some crucial matches against Singapore and Nigeria. So how are you shaping up?
I am in good form. It is important that I maintain this physical condition because it is a very lengthy tournament and we have to play a lot of matches.
The women’s team triumph was quite unexpected…
Yes, that was quite unexpected, especially beating Singapore in the final. But the way Manika (Batra) played in the final, it was quite brilliant. The pair of Mouma and Madhurika too played very well.
You are 35, while there were a few of players in the same age bracket in Nigeria and Singapore. Has 35 become the new 25?
Yes, because the physical fitness aspect is coming into play. Skills are there for so many years and as you get older, you get better with skills and the experience gained over so many years also helps.