Achanta Sharath Kamal is an Indian table-tennis player who is a recipient of the Arjuna award</b> for the year 2004. His current world rank is 48, as of April, 2018. He was born in July 12, 1982 in Tamil Nadu. He worked for Indian Oil Corporation.
Early life of Achanta Sharath Kamal
Born in a Telugu speaking family, Achanta Sharath Kamal was a student of PSBB Nungambakkam School and did his graduation from Loyola School, Chennai. He showed glimpse of his proficiency when burst into the State Senior scene winning all the Tamil Nadu State ranking titles at stake. In 2003, he won his maiden National Championship. Since then there was no looking back for this talented player.
Career of Achanta Sharath Kamal
Achanta Sharath Kamal also won the gold medal in the Men`s Singles of Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship in 2004 in the 16th Commonwealth table tennis championship, held in Kuala Lumpur. He was the first Indian to win gold medal at the Commonwealth Table Tennis. In the same year He also captained India`s men`s team escalating its success and defeating England, the nine time champions. In 2004, Achanta Sharath participated in the Olympics in Athens. Achanta Sharath Kamal started getting the fame of a toast of the nation after achieving the first ever individual gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne to India. Apart from winning the individual gold, he also played a vital role in helping the Indian team to get the gold in the table tennis team event against Singapore.
He also represented India in the Asian Games at Quarter. The venerated tennis player of India took part in various national and international levels and won fame equally in each sectors. Having been motivated and appreciated by the internationally known tennis players, Achanta Sharath Kamal took part in the championships and leagues for instance Spanish First League, Asian Championship, Pro Tour Chile Open, World Table Tennis Championship, Commonwealth Championship, Pro Tour Japan Open are some of them. In September 2007, Kamal became the first Indian to win gold medal by winning the Pyong Young International TT Tournament. He even won the India Pro tour championship at Delhi. In the year 2008, Kamal participated in the World Table Tennis Championship held at China. He has made a record of four titles in the Nationals, Singles, Men`s Doubles, Doubles and Team. In 2009 he represented India for the second time at the Beijing Olympics. He has won one gold medal, at the men`s doubles and two silver medals in the singles in the Commonwealth Championships held at Glasgow, Scotland in the month of May 09. He had captained the Indian team to the Asian champions held in Lucknow and was awarded the `Most Valuable Player` of the tournament.
To add to his list of firsts he has even won the US open Table Tennis Men`s Championship at Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Egypt Open TT Championship in 2010 making him the first Indian to win singles title on the ITTF Pro Tour. He teamed up with Shubhajit Saha and batched the Men`s Doubles gold at the 2010 Common Wealth Games in Delhi. Currently he also plays for a Spanish club San Sebastian de los Reyes. He played for SV Werder Bremen in the 2011-12. He qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after beating Iran`s Noshad Alamian in the Asian Olympic qualification.
Awards and Honours to Achanta Sharath Kamal
This skilled tennis player was rewarded with Arjuna Award in 2004 and in the same year Kamal was employed in the Indian Oil Corporation. He was awarded by the Central Government and Tamil Nadu State Government with high cash incentives for excellent performances in the various International Table Tennis Tournaments. To add to his glory he has been the four times National Champion.