Sharath Kamal – New Indian Express

Factor YEARS

NEW DELHI: India’s top table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal doesn’t “watch” at the Paris Olympics because he thinks the upcoming Tokyo Games are his last and he wants to give his best shots every four years.

The Tokyo Olympics start on July 23, and the games run on August 8 this year. The event was scheduled to take place last year, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The kind of fitness I can maintain, and the way I can train, I really don’t know, it’s about motivation to go to the next Olympics, but right now I’m not looking there. I’m not looking at 2024. I focus entirely on Tokyo and I play because this is the last one i try to give it everything, ”Sharath told ANI.

The upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators, Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa confirmed last week. Sharath has been practicing the Olympics, but she didn’t think she would play in the Tokyo Games without fans.

“The coaching camp was, I think, the most important thing when locking was a problem and we had a lot of restrictions on training, so when we got to training camp, a biobubble formed and it was good,” Sharath said.

“At the camp, we did a lot of simulation, like we played a match because it was a semi-final or semi-final and then the final because there was only one table and people were trying to cheer us up.

“But now the decision has been changed and we had to train again without fans in a quiet hall. I think the camp was really good and I’m really happy with the continuation of the camp,” he added.

Sharath said he was unsure of the new COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Japan, but he is quite confident in dealing with the situation as soon as he arrives in Tokyo.

“A lot of things have already happened and I’ve experienced a lot of anxiety and stress, but right now I’m totally focused only on the Olympics,” Sharath said.

“I still don’t know about many other things, there are so many things we’re not sure about because of the new COVID restrictions.

“But I’m almost used to all of these things and I know how to handle it over the years, hopefully everything will get better,” he added.

Speaking about the possibility of winning a medal in mixed doubles events, Sharath said: “Miscellaneous doubles are a place where we have a reasonable chance of winning a medal because you start the eighth round and are only three rounds away from the medal.

“In singles, we have almost 6-7 rounds of medals, which makes it a little harder. So mixed twins are priorities, but at the same time, singles are also something I look at personally,” he signed.