Winning medals in individual events is no easy feat. But Achanta Sharath Kamal, who won four medals at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022, is one such legend of Indian sports, who, at the age of 40, secured his second singles gold 16 years after his first one in 2006.
Kamal won gold in the singles, men's team, and Mixed Doubles events, as well as silver in the men’s doubles. And the veteran star opened up about his excellent performance during an exclusive interview with Sports Today, “Yes, of course. It is the best performance, and probably the best two weeks in terms of my performance. The way I played, my form, and the way I carried myself through the whole tournament. I am happy that the results equate my performances with three golds and two silvers.”
See the full interview here:
Sharing his thoughts on his preparations for the CWG, Kamal said, "This is a process that I started back in January 2022, because after the Olympics I took a small break, and then I started working on a few things but not so intensively. But I knew that come January I will have to step it up. There were days when I played three matches on a go, had a lunch break, and then matches on a go again. So, I had that intensive training, and that helped me prepare for the Commonwealth Games.
Kamal's tally of four medals, including three golds, puts him on 17th in the overall Commonwealth Games medal table if he were a nation. His victories in Birmingham took his total tally to 13 medals with seven golds, three silver, and three bronzes, and makes him among the most decorated sportsmen in the competition’s history.
Speaking about the progress of the sport since he made his CWG debut back in 2006, Kamal said, "It has changed a lot. Back then, my ranking was 130. And now it's 38, and I have a player who is better than me who is 36 or 35 (G Sathiyan). And we have never had such high-ranked players from India, and I think India is constantly growing in the field of table tennis."
