Circa 2006. The then 24-year-old Achanta Sharath Kamal was taking part in his first Commonwealth Games males’s singles finals and he was up in opposition to dwelling favourite, Australia’s William Henzell. Having performed Henzell and crushed him in 2004, Sharath knew Henzell’s model of play and studied learn how to counter it. He was assured about securing his first gold medal on the quadrennial video games.
But then Henzell fully modified his ways. Known for his fast-paced sport, Henzell performed sluggish and near the online. It meant that Sharath needed to fully change his aggressive model of play too. Being a powerful forehand participant then, Sharath needed to rapidly adapt to Henzell’s backhand topspin pictures and managed to take the high-octane best-of-seven match 4-3.
That’s actually been the story of Sharath’s desk tennis journey to this point. ‘So far’, as a result of even at 40, there is not any signal of him stopping. One of the hallmarks of his sport is that all through his profession – he adapts rapidly to his opponent’s taking part in model after which beats them at their very own sport. Sixteen years after the Melbourne triumph, it has introduced him his second Commonwealth males’s singles gold, on the Birmingham Games.
KAMAL KA KAMAAL@sharathkamal1 wins in opposition to Liam (ENG) (4-1) (11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8) within the #TableTennis Men’s Singles occasion on the #CommonwealthGames2022
With this win, Sharath Kamal has bagged an total 7🥇 medals on the CWG in numerous classes🤩 pic.twitter.com/OC3vBo47iS
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 8, 2022
Three video games stand out on the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The first being his singles match within the semifinal of the boys’s crew occasion in opposition to Nigeria’s high participant Aruna Quadri. In top-of-the-line matches of the Games, Sharath, the present World No. 39, dished out a desk tennis masterclass to Aruna. The Indian received the primary sport 11-9 earlier than Aruna fought again brilliantly to win the second 11-7. One might be forgiven for considering the tide was handing over Aruna’s favor however Sharath, unleashing some power-hitting, dominated Aruna 11-8 within the third earlier than clinching a quite dramatic fourth sport 15-13 to offer India a 2-0 lead within the match.
The second was his males’s singles semifinal in opposition to England’s Paul Drinkhall. The Englishman matched Sharath’s pace, which means India’s 10-time nationwide champion needed to be faster than he often is. Attacking Drinkhall’s backhand together with his thunderous forehand, Sharath managed to win the match 4-3 to achieve the ultimate.
Then, after all, there was the boys’s singles remaining in opposition to Liam Pitchford of England on Monday. After dropping the opening sport to the World No. 20, Sharath determined to be overtly aggressive and it labored in his favor as he closed out the match 4-1 for his third gold in Birmingham.
#SharatKamal Wins his Third Gold🥇of #CWG2022 #TableTennis
#B2022 #StaffIndia #GoldMedal #birmigham2022 #LakshyaSen #PVSindhu pic.twitter.com/fEf7OL0ZKl
— Richa Sharma (@Rich_aaaaa) August 8, 2022
Tactical and psychological power
Neha Aggarwal Sharma, who partnered Sharath on the 2008 Olympics, has seen him from shut quarters, and extra importantly, has seen how he is altered his sport all through his profession to remain on the high.
“We all know that Sharath is the best Indian table tennis player but I don’t think we actually know how good he is. We have good Indian players but really nobody can match Sharath’s level because he’s tactically and mentally very strong,” she informed The Indian Express.
Neha says it is his years of taking part in within the German Bundesliga which have helped him develop tremendously.
“When you play within the World Table Tennis (WTT) occasions, you come throughout every kind of gamers and all of them play at a really excessive stage. And Sharath has performed overseas for numerous years, giving him that have that no one else has. I do not suppose there’s any opponent or any model of play that he fears. He is aware of learn how to take care of something that will get thrown at him,” she mentioned.
While he is dominated on the Commonwealth Games, his aim of an Olympic and Asian Games singles medal stays. He’s had fairly a number of memorable matches although. The sport in opposition to eventual winner Ma Long on the Tokyo Olympics won’t ever be forgotten.
Sharath confronted Long, who was defending the title he received in 2016, within the third spherical of the match. He snatched the second sport away from the then World No. 3 and took the third sport to the tie-breaker earlier than ultimately dropping the match in 5 video games. Even taking a sport out of Long was thought-about an achievement.
It’s not that he is all the time been the technically robust participant that he’s. Neha says that earlier than 2010 he wasnt very robust together with his backhands. She says he gladly acknowledged his shortcomings and determined to work on them.
“He’s always been a player with ferocious forehands. A foreign coach of his at the time asked him to work on his backhands. Sharath realized that to be a complete player and have that kind of longevity, he would have to become an all-round player. That’s what he went about doing,” she mentioned.
Despite being such an skilled participant, Sharath is all the time curious to study concerning the opponent, based on his brother Rajath, who’s a part of the technical workers of the Indian crew.
“There’s nothing you can teach Sharath technique-wise. You just have to have discussions with him. The more we talk about a player’s technique, the more strategies he develops in his head and is ready to execute them. The best part is that he doesn’t mind trying new strategies,” Rajath mentioned.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
