Sharath Kamal’s illustrious profession ends
Mumbai: Indian desk tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal known as time on his illustrious profession after shedding within the spherical of 16 of the WTT Star Contender occasion in Chennai on Saturday.
The 42-year-old paddler, who has been the flag-bearer of Indian desk tennis for over 20 years, had introduced earlier this month that the match in his hometown could be his final as an expert athlete.
For a participant who has been a mentor to numerous younger gamers, Sharath Kamal’s final opponent turned out to be his doubles accomplice Snehit Suravajjula who scored a good 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 win. On Friday, the pair had bowed out within the males’s doubles semi-final.
“It’s the appropriate time to go. I made this resolution six months in the past. So, in fact, if you make that call, then the thoughts additionally doesn’t work in the direction of attending to that stage,” he mentioned to the media on Saturday. “The best way it has ended, I can’t ask for something extra.”
Essentially the most embellished desk tennis participant within the nation, Sharath Kamal has gained seven gold, three silver and as many bronze medals throughout 5 Commonwealth Video games. He was additionally among the many first Indians, together with Manika Batra, to win the nation’s first Asian Video games medal once they gained bronze within the blended doubles occasion on the 2018 version in Jakarta. On the identical competitors, he picked up a second bronze medal within the males’s workforce occasion.
The five-time Olympian has additionally gained the Arjuna award, Khel Ratna and, in 2019, was the recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.
Sharath Kamal began his marketing campaign in Chennai with a 3-0 win over compatriot Anirban Ghosh earlier than selecting up one other straight-games win over tenth seeded Australian Nicholas Lum within the second spherical.
Partnering Snehit in doubles, they beat the Australian duo of Lum and Finn Luu 3-2, and upset second seeds Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar with the identical scoreline within the quarter-final.
Their run ended within the semi-final after shedding to 3rd seeds from South Korea Kim Jonghoon and An Jaehyun.
“It’s been an exquisite journey,” mentioned Sharath Kamal. “Each time there have been some highs, there have been some lows. I loved each a part of it.”
