Chennai set for his fifth Olympic appearance in Paris, Indian flag bearer Achanta Sharath Kamal feels he is scaling new heights with every passing year and believes that "the best is yet to come".
The 41-year-old turned back the clock to win three gold medals, including one in the men's singles, at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
He returned empty-handed to last year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, but Sharath helped the Indian men's team secure a historic quota at the Paris Olympics through world ranking after finishing in the last 16 at the World Championships. Table Tennis in Busan in February.
"I am happy to be able to scale new heights with each passing year, along with improving both physically and mentally. I hope the best is yet to come," said the top-ranked Indian.
"Highlighting one particular achievement in my career would not do justice to my other achievements. Bronze at the Asian Games (Jakarta 2018) and gold at the Commonwealth Games are two of my career highs," said Sharath, who has with 13 CWG medals. in his cabinet.
"I'm pretty sure I haven't left any stone unturned. I've done my best on my part and I hope the results continue," added Sharath, who has risen from 88th in the world to 34th in the ITTF rankings.
Sharath, who began his Olympic career in Athens 2004 when he was 21 years old, dreams of reaching the podium after reuniting with Italian coach Massimo Costantini.
"Back then, I didn't know what it was like to get into the Olympics. But I've become the player I am now and hopefully in my fifth Olympics I'll have a chance to get that medal. And once that happens I can be really satisfied with my career," he considered.
The 66-year-old had coached India from 2009 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2018 he was part of their success at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. India had clinched a record eight medals at the CWG 2018, followed by two bronzes in the final in Indonesia.
"He brings a lot of confidence around him and the team. It's something I need since a lot of us work individually. But how can we do it together? Max has been helping us do it."
But speaking of reality, getting on the podium will be an "uphill task," Sharath acknowledged.
"It's going to be very difficult, and apparently we are in 14th or 15th place, which makes the task even more arduous. But we are also optimistic because with the kind of form we have all been playing.
"The girls are going to go very far in the Olympic Games, the same as the boys. We want to do it," he said.
He further said that he has learned 'periodization' or systematic training as he seeks to implement the knowledge this time.
"He has helped me enormously in preparations: trying to understand my body and my mind. Periodization is something I have learned over the years and I am looking to put that knowledge into practice in Paris," he said.
"I'm not getting younger any day. Age is not on my side and I have to make sure I turn back the clock. It's something I'm trying to improve for these Olympics," he said.
Sharath has also undergone a series of tests, including genetic and bone density scans, to improve through sports science.
"It was mainly to make sure I didn't make mistakes about exactly what to do. For example, I have an intolerance towards some substance, how to stay away from it and have the best knowledge of sports science," he said. explained.
"I didn't have great access to sports science before Tokyo, and only then did I realize that it can help us improve. That's why we do these tests to make sure that even small differences contribute a lot, especially in situations like the Olympic Games."
A few months ago, Sharath underwent a four-week training in Germany and confessed that she worked a lot on the technical aspects of herself during this session.
"There I focused a lot on working on my technical aspects and perfecting my skills, and I tried to practice with different levels of players in different conditions. It has helped me a lot, and now it's time to put all those (learnings) into action.", he added in the interaction organized by Timelinks.
The 41-year-old turned back the clock to win three gold medals, including one in the men's singles, at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
He returned empty-handed to last year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, but Sharath helped the Indian men's team secure a historic quota at the Paris Olympics through world ranking after finishing in the last 16 at the World Championships. Table Tennis in Busan in February.
"I am happy to be able to scale new heights with each passing year, along with improving both physically and mentally. I hope the best is yet to come," said the top-ranked Indian.
"Highlighting one particular achievement in my career would not do justice to my other achievements. Bronze at the Asian Games (Jakarta 2018) and gold at the Commonwealth Games are two of my career highs," said Sharath, who has with 13 CWG medals. in his cabinet.
"I'm pretty sure I haven't left any stone unturned. I've done my best on my part and I hope the results continue," added Sharath, who has risen from 88th in the world to 34th in the ITTF rankings.
Sharath, who began his Olympic career in Athens 2004 when he was 21 years old, dreams of reaching the podium after reuniting with Italian coach Massimo Costantini.
"Back then, I didn't know what it was like to get into the Olympics. But I've become the player I am now and hopefully in my fifth Olympics I'll have a chance to get that medal. And once that happens I can be really satisfied with my career," he considered.
The 66-year-old had coached India from 2009 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2018 he was part of their success at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. India had clinched a record eight medals at the CWG 2018, followed by two bronzes in the final in Indonesia.
"He brings a lot of confidence around him and the team. It's something I need since a lot of us work individually. But how can we do it together? Max has been helping us do it."
But speaking of reality, getting on the podium will be an "uphill task," Sharath acknowledged.
"It's going to be very difficult, and apparently we are in 14th or 15th place, which makes the task even more arduous. But we are also optimistic because with the kind of form we have all been playing.
"The girls are going to go very far in the Olympic Games, the same as the boys. We want to do it," he said.
He further said that he has learned 'periodization' or systematic training as he seeks to implement the knowledge this time.
"He has helped me enormously in preparations: trying to understand my body and my mind. Periodization is something I have learned over the years and I am looking to put that knowledge into practice in Paris," he said.
"I'm not getting younger any day. Age is not on my side and I have to make sure I turn back the clock. It's something I'm trying to improve for these Olympics," he said.
Sharath has also undergone a series of tests, including genetic and bone density scans, to improve through sports science.
"It was mainly to make sure I didn't make mistakes about exactly what to do. For example, I have an intolerance towards some substance, how to stay away from it and have the best knowledge of sports science," he said. explained.
"I didn't have great access to sports science before Tokyo, and only then did I realize that it can help us improve. That's why we do these tests to make sure that even small differences contribute a lot, especially in situations like the Olympic Games."
A few months ago, Sharath underwent a four-week training in Germany and confessed that she worked a lot on the technical aspects of herself during this session.
"There I focused a lot on working on my technical aspects and perfecting my skills, and I tried to practice with different levels of players in different conditions. It has helped me a lot, and now it's time to put all those (learnings) into action.", he added in the interaction organized by Timelinks.
