Table tennis player Kamal rues luck of the draw
INDIA’S finest-ever table tennis player, Sharath Kamal, feels he might have played the best match of his almost two-decade-long career despite ending on the wrong side of the result against Ma Long in Tokyo.
The 39-year-old showed that he still remains at the top of his game against the reigning World and Olympic champion.
His performance against the Chinese legend in the round of 32 has further convinced Kamal to take part in the Paris Olympics, his fifth Games, and which is “only” three years away.
“I played the best game possible and it has been my best Olympics, because of the way I played. The only thing I would like to change here is the draw. If I had anybody else in this situation (other than Ma), I had a real good shot at reaching the quarterfinals,” the world number 32 said.
“The kind of pressure I was able to put him under, I almost had him. I was just unfortunate that I could not convert that third game, otherwise it would have been a very different match,” Kamal added, referring to his 11-13 loss after winning the second with a rocket-like crosscourt forehand.
Kamal, who had beaten three top 20 players in the 2015 Asian Cup in Jaipur, said his effort in Tokyo surpassed even that feat.
He may have ended without a medal, but a third-round finish at the Games – the first-ever Indian male to do so – is good enough for him to rate it as his best-ever performance.
“Best tournament ever because the way I was able to play. Besides my mental and physical shape, all of it combined makes it the best tournament ever for me. Really happy that I am able to play like this despite being on the wrong side of age,” he said.
Talking about India’s run at the Tokyo Olympics, Kamal said it was another shot in the arm for table tennis after the historic high at the 2018 Asian Games, where the country won its first medal in the sport in 60 years and ended up with two bronzes.
“Though we didn’t win a medal, it has been a solid performance from India. Manika (Batra) did really well (to reach the third round) and both of us were able to generate a lot more eyeballs on the game.”