CHENNAI : Just as Spring turns to full fledged Summer in Paris, some of the world's most decorated athletes will descend on the city for the Olympics. Amongst all of them, a 42-year-old — he will celebrate his birthday days before boarding the flight (if all goes well between now and then) — will be A Sharath Kamal. When he made his debut at the Athens Games, he was 22. Two decades later, he has pushed himself for one final tilt at immortality.
"This will be my last Olympics," he tells this daily a day before leaving for Singapore for a WTT event. The frank admission, though, came earlier during the interaction. He admits that if the men's team hadn't qualified, he would have contemplated walking away from the sport right then. "Team qualification had been the main goal over the last two years," he says. "We see big potential there; win a round and you are in the quarterfinals. You never know in the quarterfinals, on your day anything can happen. An upset and you are in with a chance"
For the record, a team qualification means two players from the team will compete in the singles competition but Sharath isn't guaranteed a spot (it's up to the selection committee). But he wants to spend more time talking about the team qualification. "It's a boost to the entire ecosystem," in his words.
Over the last decade or so, table tennis has given the country some historic highs at the Commonwealth and the Asian Games. But, somehow, the sport's relation with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has changed. "It's not a high priority sport," Sharath explains. "SAI has also slowly started reducing funding. There are other sports with medal prospects and they are investing more on that. TOP (Target Olympic Podium) Scheme are also planning to weed some players out; they anyway will. So the qualification of the men's and women's teams will actually support the entire ecosystem."
If anybody knows anything about the ecosystem of table tennis in India, it's Sharath, who is set to become one of the very few five-time Olympians this country has seen (the short list includes Leander Paes, Abhinav Bindra and Shiva Keshavan).
While he is firm on Paris being his final Olympic journey, he remains non-committal on whether it will be his last international outing. "The thought process was exactly that," he says when asked if he had thought about hanging up his paddle if the team had failed to qualify. "Those thoughts were there but at least this will be a good way to say goodbye to the Olympics.
"I haven't yet decided whether it will be my last international. I think the Asian Championships begins immediately after the Olympics so if they need me...
When did he get this clarity? "I didn't have this at the end of 2022. But over the last year or so, I can say, yes, I have had this clarity, about slowly going into the administrative side of things (once the Olympics are over)."
In a way, he's already into administration as he was elected as vice-chair of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in November 2022. Over the last few months though, his in-tray has been put on ice. "If you have been following lately, you would have noticed I haven't said much about this (his administrative role at the IOA. Over the last 2-3 months, I have told myself 'this is my last chance'. "I don't want to get too much into that side of things. Once the Olympics are over, I will do what's necessary in my role with the IOA."
Summer-time in Paris is when the city is filled with romance with its various art galleries, quaint cafes, churches, monuments and museums welcoming visitors from all over the world. Can Sharath, well into the winter of his career, conjure a final romance?