Olympic qualification tougher than the Games: Sharath Kamal

Indian TT star Sharath Kamal (right) with former paddler Kamlesh Mehta yesterday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

India's ace paddler Sharath Kamal has said that expectations from the Indian team has increased after they ended a 60-year wait for a medal in table tennis by winning two bronze medals (men's team and mixed doubles) at the Jakarta Asian Games last year.

"My goal for 2019 would be to get into Top 20 in the world ranking and of course the next big thing is the 2020 Olympic Games. The two bronze medals at the Asian Games have instilled a lot of belief that we can even win a medal at the Olympics," said Sharath, who is currently ranked 33 in the world, at a media briefing held at 11Sports office yesterday.

"The competition at the Asian Games is very high and more or less they are the recurring teams at the Olympics, apart from a few European nations. If we can win a medal at the Asian Games, a medal at the Olympic Games is surely possible.

"Mixed doubles [mixed doubles will be included for the first time in 2020] is our biggest chance to win a medal," the paddler explained. Sharath felt that it is the Olympic qualification which would be tougher as compared to the quadrennial event itself.

"The start of 2020 will see the first qualifiers for the Olympics. Then, there will be more of them in April and May. There are lots of qualifiers coming up and we need to be ready. I feel more than the Olympic Games, the qualification to the Games is difficult," he stressed "At the Olympic Games, you start from the Round-of-16. You win three matches, and you stand a chance to win a medal. To get there is the most difficult part," reckoned Sharath, who recently won the national men's singles title for a record ninth time surpassing the long-standing record of Kamlesh Mehta.

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