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 A gold-winning performance
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Achanta
Sharath Kamal |
I want to give the game style and an iconic status and I think the best way to do it is through my personal appearance, and also, through my game, set high standards for kids to follow, says young Achanta Sharath Kamal, pushing back his almost shoulder-length hair.
(His reasoning sounded good enough for his parents, Srinivasa Rao and Annapoorna, to let him keep his long hair though they had at first disapproved of it.)
Sharath, a Chennaivasi, has almost achieved what he set out to do. He has suddenly become the cynosure of all eyes, having won two
gold at the Commonwealth Games in table tennis (TT). At age 23, it has been a long wait for him as he started playing when he was six years old.
Sharath was trained by his father Srinivasa Rao and his paternal uncle, Muralidhara Rao the brilliant coaches are known as the Rao Brothers in TT circles and groomed to one day reach the goal of winning in international games.
We knew that he had the capacity to win. His main characteristic was that he was mentally strong. All he needed was the grooming. He had dreamed of success and worked with commitment. The long wait for international recognition has at least come due to his unswerving determination, says Muralidhara Rao passionately about his
protege.
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The Rao
Brothers |
Srinivasa Rao said he had got used to playing the dual role of a father and coach as he took the young lad under his wing. I understood that he must have been under a lot of pressure before the final match in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games. The whole team expected him to land the gold in the singles final. Sharath confessed that he didn't sleep that night. I became so emotional when he won the gold that I broke down in front of the TV, says Srinivasa
Rao.
He missed being by Sharath's side to guide him to victory. But when a father is also the coach there is bound too be a lot of emotional undercurrents, explains Muralidhara Rao. If I find my brother getting
emotional during a match, I would ask him to leave the place and
watch from far away. I would then guide Sharath Kamal, he explains.
A lot of hard work has gone into making Sharath what he is today, especially after he took up playing TT professionally six or seven years ago. It has been a case of breathing and living only TT. Sharath works out in the gym for physical fitness and practices TT three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening at the SDAT-AKG table tennis development centre in Nehru Stadium.
The government has helped develop the game by providing for the centre and spending vast amounts to make it a world class arena. I won the gold in Australia because of this infrastructure, says Sharath gratefully and his uncle concurs.
He also has the mental strength to fight the battles of the table. I am an extrovert and aggressive when I play. I show my emotions openly pumping my fist when I win a point, angry when I make an error...., says the otherwise cool youngster.
We have to prepare mentally for every match as every match is a mental battle, says Sharath. By watching his own videos and those of his opponents, he prepares himself mentally to face each game.
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The
family |
The finals at Melbourne where the Commonwealth Games were held was a continuous battle of nerves. When Sharath played against Henzel, the Australian's game was different from a couple of years ago. Sharath had planned a different kind of response. But he had to modulate his game and change his tactic to overpower him this time round. In international matches, after a point it is mental strength that makes the difference, says Muralidhara
Rao.
He played in the World Championship, Asian Championship, Commonwealth Championship, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games and gained the confidence to have a string of victories since 2002. In fact, I was hoping he would be defeated so that he could work on his minus points, says Muralidhara Rao half-jokingly.
Sharath was defeated in the nationals just before the Commonwealth tournament. But it did not make a difference to his game in Melbourne.
So how did it feel to land the gold for India?
I was tired and relieved at the same time. Tired after 11 days of gruelling tournament and relieved that I had achieved what I had set out to do. I was satisfied with the way I played and won the gold, says the young man matter-of-factly.
But he is elated at the reception he has been getting from all quarters in
Chennai.
He had started getting phone calls in Melbourne itself after his win. He had expected at the most about 50 people at the airport to receive him. But he was mildly shocked at the number of people who turned up when he arrived at Chennai airport.
There was the police band which played the national anthem, his maths teacher, from his old school Padma Seshadhri Bala Bhavan, had turned up with a group of students in uniform and banner, SDAT vice-president W I Dewaram, coaches, Indian Oil Corporation (where he works) bosses, kids who play in his club and their parents, relatives and of course the press, were all waiting for him.
His grandparents had come all the way from their native village to see him arriving to a hero's welcome.
It was a very good reception. I am so happy that so many people wished me and blessed me like I was one of their family. It makes me feel really happy and gives me more energy to aim higher, beams
Sharath.
This warm welcome was followed by a reception at IOC where the whole office turned up to welcome him. More phone calls from old classmates and collegemates, (he is an old student of Loyola College), strangers, friends, relatives are still pouring in. There was the felicitation by his school and congratulatory letters from people like the Chennai Police Commissioner R Nataraj that have added to the joy of this young man.
My next
dream is the Olympic medal. It seems a little far away now. But I think miracles happen everyday. I am just waiting for the opportunity, says Sharath.
S Chitra
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