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Achanta Sharath Kamal Rules Out Retirement In Near Future, Commits To Playing Another Season On Tour

admin — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 15:39:31 +0000

File photo of Sharath Kamal.

Indian table tennis great Sharath Kamal was expected to chalk out his retirement plans post his fifth appearance at the Olympics but the 42-year-old on Wednesday committed to another season on the professional tour. Sharath was on Wednesday named captain of the Indian men’s team for the Asian Championships in Astana next month. Speaking to PTI, India’s flag-bearer at the Paris Olympics said he would also be competing in the China Smash later this month before travelling to Kazakhstan for the Asian Championships beginning October 7.

The highest ranked Indian at 37 is also aiming to play in the 2025 World Championships in Doha.

“For the next nine months to one year I would still be an active player. But at the same time, I will be exploring options in IOC and ITTF. At home with TTFI, I would try to help create a structure and bridge the gap between SAI and TTFI and bring in more corporate sponsorships into the game,” said the veteran.

Sharath is the first Indian to be elected into the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) athletes’ commission. He is also part of the athletes’ body in the Indian Olympic Association and in future, he is aiming for a seat on the athletes’ commission of the International Olympic Committee.

He ruled out competing in the 2028 Olympics but the 2026 Asian Games remains a possibility.

“I would like to take a call on the Asian Games next year. The body is holding up fine post the Olympics. I got some time off and UTT is in Chennai. I am able to balance personal life as well,” said Sharath, who is currently busy with Ultimate Table Tennis League.

Sharath and the Indian team did not have the best of times in the Paris Olympics.

Sharath exited the individual events early before India, playing the team championship for the first time, could not do much against the mighty China in the pre-quarterfinals.

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Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony Pays Big Tribute To Hindi In Paris; Internet Says ‘Proud To Be Indian’

admin — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 02:08:51 +0000

The Paris Olympics 2024 got off to a glittering start with an opening ceremony that celebrated unity in diversity. The city of Paris turned into a colossal amphitheater, and the iconic river Seine served as a track for the athletes’ parade as France showcased its cultural diversity, spirit of revolution, impeccable craftsmanship, and architectural heritage in a riveting opening ceremony for the 33rd Olympic Games on Friday. The spectacle started with a dreamy break from tradition as the ‘Parade of Nations’ kicked off the proceedings in which athletes from 205 countries and one refugee team sailed down the Seine on boats despite heavy rain, in the run-up to and during the ceremony, threatening to play spoilsport.

The ceremony also gave a sweet tribute to ‘Hindi’ as it was among the six languages used in infographics to pay tribute to the contribution of prominent French women during the segment titled ‘sisterhood’.

HINDI was one of the 6 languages featured during Olympic opening ceremony. certainly reflects our strong diplomatic ties with france & one of the future global leaders in geopolitics. pic.twitter.com/Guybg0mW18

— sugar kane (@vegetarianmee) July 26, 2024

Proud to be Indian Written in Hindi

Watch the opening ceremony

Best Wishes to everyone at @Olympics #Paris2024 @Media_SAI @WeAreTeamIndia @IndiaSports @Olympics @OlympicKhel #Cheer4Bharat #Olympics #OlympicGames https://t.co/aLtm1ZfREB pic.twitter.com/qhjO1rK8Od

— Dilbag Koundal (@dilbag_koundal) July 26, 2024

The show began with camera panning to French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach after World Cup-winning football legend Zinedine Zidane was shown sprinting down the streets of Paris with the Olympic flame in a pre-recorded video.

The six kilometer parade began from Austerlitz bridge and 85 boats carried more than 6800 athletes amid loud cheers from the gathered crowd. A good number of athletes also skipped the incredible show due to their competitions on Saturday.

The sequence of arrivals followed the French alphabetical order. The first to arrive was the Greek contingent, for being the spiritual home of the Games, followed by the Refugee team.

The Indian contingent was led by two flag-bearers — two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and table tennis legend A Sharath Kamal and was 84th on the call sheet. The women in the contingent were draped in sarees, while the men sported the traditional ‘kurta-payjama’ in the colours of the national flag.

A total of 78 Indian athletes and officials participated in the ceremony.

The boats passed through the iconic landmarks of the city such as the restored Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was gutted in a fire five years ago, the iconic Louvre Museum and also a few of the Games venues.

In April 2019, the images of the Cathedral on fire and the fall of its spire had shocked the world.

American Pop superstar Lady Gaga was among the first international artists to enthral the assembled crowd. The ceremony was helmed by artistic director Thomas Jolly.

Amid the colourful proceedings, a mysterious torch-bearer also became a focus of attention as he darted around the city and its most famous landmarks, holding the flame.

He also crossed the Seine from the Ile Saint-Louis on a zip-wire after the cabaret performers completed their act.

Adding an element of childlike fun to the ceremony were the world-famous Minions and the missing Mona Lisa, which was ultimately found floating on Seine.

The bridges dotting the parade route featured dance performances for the fans, who had gathered at different spots after more than two lakh free tickets were distributed aside from the over one lakh that were sold.

A glimpse of the workshops of the Monnaie de Paris, where the medals for the Games have been forged, was presented to honour the city’s famed craftsmanship. A total of 5,084 medals are being produced for 2024 edition of the Games and all of them will have a piece of the Eiffel Tower.

The ceremony also had a political theme in the segment titled ’emancipation’, which was an ode to the 18th century ‘French Revolution’, triggered by the then monarch King Louis XVI’s profligacy.

A figurine of his executed wife Marie Antoinette’s decapitated torso was part of the act.

Antoinette is infamously quoted to have said, “Let them eat cake”, when told about the financial distress of French commoners at that time.

With PTI inputs

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Asian Games 2023: Indian Men Lose To South Korea 0-3 In Table Tennis Quarter-finals; Women Bow Out

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 14:38:18 +0000

The Indian men’s team missed out on an Asian Games bronze medal in table tennis after a second-string South Korea blanked them 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Harmeet Desai lost the first match 0-3 to An Jaehyun. G Sathiyan tried to put up a fight, but it was not enough to get past Park Ganghyeon as India trailed 0-2 after the first two ties. The onus was on Achantha Sharath Kamal to bring India back into the contest. However, things did not quite unfold in the manner the Indians would have liked as the veteran from Chennai went down 2-3 to Oh Junsung.

(Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

The defeat would have been even more hurting for the Indians as South Korea’s top three players did not even play in the match.

Earlier in the day, Sharath raised his game just in time to help India escape unscathed against Kazakhstan.

But the women’s table tennis team imploded against a resilient Thailand to bow out of the Games.

Star Indian paddler Manika Batra failed in both her singles matches as the women’s team lost 2-3 to a resilient Thailand. The match against Kazakhstan was locked 2-2 when Sharath Kamal produced a face-saving win in the decisive fifth rubber.

Sharath had lost the opening singles tamely 1-3 ( 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8) to Krill Gerassimenko, the top-ranked player from Kazakhstan.

The world No. 78 started briskly and ended in the same vein, despite Sharath winning the second game.

Sathiyan accounted for Aidos Kenzhigulov 14-12 11-8 11-5 to level the scores before Harmeet put India ahead. The world No. 69 Indian beat Alan Kurumangaliyev 11-7, 12-10, 11-5.

However, Sathiyan faced stiff resistance from Krill in their reverse singles, but the world No. 107 struggled, eventually losing 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11.

With the scores tied, much depended on the most experienced Sharath in his reverse singles against Aidos.

Sharath Kamal was caught on the wrong foot and lost the first two games but closed Aidos out with a 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 in the decisive rubber.

The women went down fighting after Batra fared rather poorly.

The top-ranked Indian at No. 31 lost 7-11, 1-11, 11-13 to left-hander Orawan Paranang, who is ranked No. 67.

But Ayhika Mukherjee repaired the early damage with a significant 18-16, 11-7, 13-15, 11-9 win over Suthasini Sawettabut.

Sutirtha Mukherjee provided the lead when she beat Tamolwan Khetkhuan 11-1, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-7.

Ayhika failed to consolidate the lead after leading 2-1 against Orawan as the Thai left-hander changed her strategy in the last two games to outsmart the Indian 10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3.

The entire focus shifted to Batra, playing the decisive last rubber. But her struggle in the first game, which she won 12-10, gave a glimpse of not being in the groove.

Finally, Suthasini beat Batra 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 to put Thailand in the quarters.

Thailand will play North Korea on Sunday for a place in the semifinals.

Indian women suffer embarrassing defeats in rugby, hopes dashed

The Indian women’s Rugby 7s team suffered humiliating defeats in its first two matches of the Asian Games on Sunday. India began its group stage campaign with a massive 0-38 loss to Hong Kong. Later in the day, defending champion Japan hammered the Indians 45-0 in the Pool F match, effectively ending its chances of making it to the semi-finals.

India will next be up against Singapore on Monday and will try to register a win that could allow it to finish third in Group B and feature in the classification playoff for the fifth-sixth place.

The Indian Rugby 7s women’s side is being led by Sheetal Sharma. It is only the second time that the side has made it to the Asian Games, with the first being in Doha 2006, where it finished at the bottom in Group B.

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