Achanta Sharath Kamal is a famous Indian table tennis player. He is considered to be the first Indian table tennis player to win the National Senior Championship title for nine consecutive years. After this, he broke the record of eight times Indian Table Tennis Player Kamlesh Mehta’s National Champion.
Wiki/Biography
Achanta Sharath Kamal was born on Monday, July 12, 1982 (age 40 years; in 2022) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His zodiac sign is Cancer. Soon after completing his school education, he started pursuing B.Com. degree at Loyola College, Chennai. He belongs to a family of famous Indian Table Tennis players. His father, Srinivasa Rao, and his uncle, Muralidhar Rao, were famous table tennis players, who worked as coaches to emerging Table Tennis players in India. Sharath Kamal was four years old when he was introduced to Table Tennis by his father and uncle. His early training and practice began under the guidance of his father and uncle.
Sharath Kamal with his father (right) and uncle Muralidhar Rao (left)
When he was fifteen, his father gave him the choice of continuing his studies and becoming an engineer or practicing Table Tennis professionally so that he could pursue Table Tennis as a career. Sharath chose Table Tennis and started practicing the game under his father. However, Sharath took a lot of time to leave a good impression on the national level TT selectors. His aggressive style of play included a lot of risk which used to affect his consistency while playing the game.
Sharath Kamal’s childhood photos with his mother and brother
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 6′ 2″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Srinivasa Rao, and he is a former table tennis player and coach.
Sharath Kamal with his father Srinivasa Rao
His mother’s name is Annapurna, and she is a housewife.
Sharath Kamal’s mother and daughter
He has a younger brother named Rajath Kamal.
Wife & Children
On 27 July 2009, Sharath Kamal got married to Sripoorni SK. She is a housewife.
Sharath Kumar with his wife, Sripoorni SK
The couple has a son and a daughter.
Sharath Kamal with his wife, Sripoorni and their children
Career
Sharath Kamal was selected for the 16-man training camp during the 2002 Commonwealth Games. This training helped him understand the game so that he could improve his performance. As a result, in 2002, he qualified for the finals of the national championship, and he became part of the Indian national team. In 2003, he participated in the national championship and won his first title. In 2004, he competed in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships and won his first international medal. As a result, he qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He then participated in five national competitions in a row and won a title in each competition. In 2006, he competed at the Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne and won the gold medal in the TT singles. During the same tournament, he won another gold medal in the men’s team event.
Sharath Kamal (centre) after winning the gold medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games
In 2007, Sharath Kamal competed in the Pyongyang Invitational Tournament, held in Pyongyang, North Korea and became the first table tennis player to participate in the same competition. In the same year, he joined the Japan Pro Tour and defeated his opponent Lee Jung-woo from South Korea. Lee Jung-woo was ranked 19th in the world when he was defeated by Sharath. In 2008, he participated in the Beijing Olympics and became the only Indian Men’s Table Tennis player to compete in these Olympics. In 2010, Sharath Kamal won the US Open Men’s Table Tennis Championship held in Grand Rapids, Michigan after defeating his opponent, Thomas Keinath of Slovakia, in a seven-game match. In the same year, he participated in the Egypt Open and won the championship after defeating his opponent Li Ching from Hong Kong. After winning this championship, he became the first Indian to win a singles title on the ITTF Pro Tour. During the ITTF Pro Tour, as team captain, he helped his team win the championship by defeating England, who were the tour favorites and nine-time champions.
Sharath Kamal at the ITTF Pro Tour in Oman
In 2010, he competed at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and won the gold medal in Men’s Doubles with his teammate, Subhajit Saha.
Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha after winning the gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games
The following year, he played for the TSV Grafelfing team during the table tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) tournament. In the same tournament, he teamed up with SV Werder Bremen in 2012. In 2013, he joined Borussia Düsseldorf in Germany, one of the best clubs for table tennis in Europe. In 2016, during the Asian Olympics, he defeated Iran’s Noshad Alamian in the qualifying round and qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016. However, in the Rio Olympics, he lost in the first match. In 2018, he participated in the Commonwealth Games, held in Gold Coast and won the gold medal in the men’s team event with his teammates Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Sanil Shetty. During the same tournament, he bagged a silver medal in the men’s doubles event with his teammate Sathiyan and bagged a bronze medal in the men’s singles event.
Sharath Kamal and his teammates with a gold medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018
In 2020, he defeated his opponent Marcos Freitas from Portugal and won the ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open. After this victory, he won a title at an ITTF event after a long wait of a decade. On 27 July 2021, Sharath Kamal was defeated by Ma Long of China in the third round of men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics.
?: This winner of Sharath Kamal against Ma Long will surely surprise you ?? #IND
He went down to fight, as #TeamIndia‘s #Tokyo2020 #Table tennis the campaign will end. #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion @sharathkamal1 pic.twitter.com/kBvyaAoCTM
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) July 27, 2021
In 2021, he won the gold medal at the 83rd Senior National Table Tennis tournament in India.
Sharath Kamal after winning gold at the 83rd National Senior championship in 2021
On 2 August 2022, Sharath Kamal and the Indian men’s table tennis team won the gold medal after defeating Singapore 3-1 in the final at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England.
Sharath Kamal after winning the gold medal in the mixed doubles event in CWG 2022
He won gold in the men’s singles at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Sharath Kamal won gold in the men’s singles at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
medal
Commonwealth Games
2006
- Gold medal in Men’s Singles TT in Melbourne
- Gold medal in the Men’s Team TT in Melbourne
2010
- Gold medal in Men’s Doubles TT in Delhi
- Bronze medal in Men’s Team TT in Delhi
2018
- Gold medal in the Men’s Team TT on the Gold Coast
- Silver medal in the Men’s Doubles TT on the Gold Coast
- Bronze medal in Men’s Singles TT at Gold Coast
- Bronze medal in the mixed doubles TT on the Gold Coast
2022
- Gold medal in the Men’s Team TT in Birmingham
- Gold in men’s singles in Birmingham
Asian sports
- Two bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games
Awards, Honors, Achievements
In 2004, he was awarded with the Arjuna award.
Sharath Kamal’s mother receiving the Arjuna award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
In 2019, he was felicitated with the Padma Shri award.
Sharath Kamal received the Padma Shri award from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind
Bicycle Collection
Sharath Kamal owns a Custom Royal Enfield bullet.
Sharath Kamal with his customized Royal Enfield bike
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
