CHENNAI:Achanta Sharath Kamal might be at that phase of his career where most sportspersons would think about their retirement plans. But he is a different breed. An ageless warrior, who continues to defy odds by coming up with monumental performances. His recent performances in the CWG and World Championships were some perfect examples.
Having been in the sport for nearly two decades, he is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses. A trait that has helped him soldier on and on. At 35, he knows he lacks the physical power of a 20-something counterpart. But that does not deter him. He has been diligently testing his body to the limits with countless hours of training behind the scenes. Apart from physical fitness, Sharath revealed that he has been looking to add speed to his game. Before Asian Games, Sharath will be seen in action in the Australian Open next week. “This (Australian Open) is a Platinum Series world ranking tournament with one of the highest prize money on the tour and most of the top-ranked players would be participating in this tournament. I would start the qualifying rounds in both singles and doubles. In doubles, I will be partnering G Sathiyan and it would be good if I can make it to the main draw,’’ Sharath told Express.
“The Indian team comprising five men, six women, six youth boys and six youth girls have left for Korea Open this week and I will be joining the team next week for the Australian Open at Geelong to be played from July 24 to 29 July,’’ added the Olympian.
After the competition Down Under, Sharath & Co will be travelling to China, as part of Asiad preparatory camp. “The Australian Open will be the last tournament that we will be playing. After that, the core team will have a 10-day training camp at China before the Asian Games. The idea to train in China was to get familiar to Asian style of play,’’ revealed Sharath.
Sharath said that he is in happy space of mind and that results would come automatically at the Asian Games. “At the moment, the confidence level is high due to the CWG and World Championships performances.”
“I have also been working on my fitness and backhand. Good backhand play was one of the reasons I did well in the CWG and World Championships, so I want to polish that.”Sharath has often said that many matches in the Asian Games were tougher than the World Championships. So will he be changing his style? “I have to work a lot on my speed, as Asian play is quicker near the table, unlike the power game of the Europeans.”
With the game getting younger how does he prepare to counter the youth brigade. “Fitness is the most important thing at my age as I tend to get slower than the counterparts who are almost 10 years younger to me. I need to be quick, explosive and agile which I’m working out with my fitness trainers at Quantum Leap Performance and I would attribute my recent success over the last two years to them as I have reached better fitness levels,’’ he said. “There have been a lot of changes in the recent times with change in the ball and equipment. With changes, the game has become physically demanding. I’m lucky that I always chose to play the power game as I went to Europe early in my career and that has helped me to sustain in the field for such a long period,’’ he added.
His partner Sathiyan is going to play in the German league, how does he see that move? “It is good that Sathiyan is part of the Bundesliga now and it would be a great opportunity for him to scale new heights. With matches against top level players and good practice, he will surely do well in the years to come,” he opined.
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com