2021 Tokyo Olympics | An Olympic medal can lift the stature of Table Tennis in India, asserts Sharath Kamal
Sharath Kamal in a nine-time national champion
|Indian Table Tennis legend Sharath Kamal feels that the stature of the game in India would drastically rise if the nation wins an Olympic medal. The Chennai-based player, along with three others - Gnansekaran Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Sharath Kamal has been the poster boy of Indian Table Tennis for years, with the likes of Manika Batra and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan taking up the baton in recent times. However, with the improvement in results at the International level, the game is still overshadowed by the popular ones like cricket, football and badminton.
Recently, four Indian paddlers – Sharath Kamal, Gnansekaran Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, with the mixed doubles team emerging as a potential medal prospect. Nine-time national champion Sharath Kamal feels that the stature of the game in India would drastically rise if the nation wins an Olympic medal.Â
 “It is a sport that most people would have tried at some point of time; there are tables at schools, colleges and offices. Most holiday resorts have TT tables too,” said Sharath Kamal, as reported by The Hindu.
“But those numbers have not translated into people taking it up professionally. I think it’s about having role models and superstars in the sport. Hopefully, if we get an Olympic medal, things will change,” added the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner.
