Sharath Kamal - With High Dreams

The Beijing Olympics will be held in August this year. The Chinese authorities are working round-the-clock for the success of the quadrennial event. So is a 25-year-old Indian paddler, who is quietly toiling in San Sebastian de Los Reyes, a suburb 18km north of Madrid, Spain. Realising the enormous expectations the country has placed on him, A. Sharath Kamal is putting in eight hours of training everyday to script a new chapter for Indian table tennis in the capital city of China.

Aware of his strengths and weaknesses, the Chennai-based table tennis champion, as is his nature, is not promising the moon. He modestly puts, “It will be a miracle if I win a medal. At the best, I want to cause one or two upsets, say beat a top-40 or a top-20 player. I am looking forward to that.”
Multi-ball training

Ranked 78th in the world, Sharath has mapped out his plans meticulously. After playing the World Championship and the Olympic qualification tournament in Hong Kong, Sharath has returned to Madrid to play for his Club, San Sebastian.

For now, Sharath is into multi-ball training (which is akin to playing a robot) and is focussing on building endurance. “Till April end, I want to practice and improve on my stamina. From May to June, more rigorous practice and physical fitness sessions. And from June to July, the emphasis will only be on quality,” he says.

Aside from practice, Sharath will compete in Brazil, Chile Open in April and Japan and China Open in May.

Fortunately, Sharath has found the right people to train in Spain. His friend at San Sebastian, Alfredo and his Polish coach Jarek have been encouraging him and making him feel at home. At his club, there is a Chinese, a Slovakian, a Russian and a Spaniard — a variety of players with different strokes. An ideal situation to better one’s skills.

When not at the TT table, Sharath loves to listen to rock and pop music and plays the guitar. He jells well with his team-mates and Alfredo, a Slovak, is a good friend. “Unlike in some other countries, where team members hardly socialise. In Spain, after the match, friends ask me whether I am free to watch a movie or eat out,” says Sharath. The National champion reached the second round in the Olympics at Athens. How far will he go in Beijing?

“This time, I’ll be happy if I reach the last 16,” says Sharath.