Your consistency shows age is no bar in achieving sporting excellence: Anurag Thakur tells Sharath Kamal

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur met Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal upon his return from Birmingham after participating in Commonwealth Games 2022 and congratulated him for showing that age was no bar in achieving sporting excellence.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Aug 11, 2022, 14:21 IST

Anurag Thakur congratulated Sharath Kamal for winning four medals at Commonwealth Games 2022.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Sharath Kamal returned from Commonwealth Games 2022 with four medals
The legendary table tennis player met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur
Thakur lauded his consistency and said age was no bar for sporting excellence

Ace Indian table tennis player Sharath Kamal once again proved his class the the Commonwealth Games 2022 - where he won three gold medals and a silver medal. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur met Kamal on August 11 and congratulated him for his brilliant show in Birmingham.

Sharath won gold medals in Men's Singles, Men's Team and Mixed doubles with Sreeja Akula, and silver in Men's Doubles with G Sathiyan, as he came up with his best performance in the Commonwealth Games.

Kamal, 40, showed that age was just a number and the same was highlighted by Thakur in his tweet for Kamal.

"Welcome back champ @sharathkamal1 ! Your fitness and consistency goes to show that age is no bar in achieving sporting excellence; you won the battle in your mind and played your game till podium finish!" Thakur tweeted.

Birmingham 2022 could also be Kamal's last appearance at the Games as he would be 44 by the time next Games are held in 2026.

Recalling his performance at CWG 2022, Kamal said it was the best two weeks of his life and he could not have asked for more.

"The best two weeks of my 40 years of life. It can't get better. OK, maybe gold in the men's doubles (he won silver), but I'm happy and I can't ask for more. Of all three golds, the first one meant the most as it was the team (one) and that gives a lot of confidence and momentum. If you don't win that, it can become quite tricky -- we could go on from there," he said.

When asked how does it feel to be called India's greatest ever table tennis player, Kamal said, "I feel really proud about that. It's good to hear that quote, especially for table tennis in India. We are able to set this importance and the sport is able to grow. Our performance here is able to inspire a lot of kids out there, so I am really happy."

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