Tokyo Olympics: My Complete Focus Is On Tokyo, Not Looking At Paris 2024, Says Sharath Kamal | Olympics News
India’s highest-ranked table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal is not “looking” at the Paris Olympics as he feels the upcoming Tokyo Games will be his last and he wants to give his best shot in the quadrennial event. Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 and will run up to August 8 this year. The event was slated to be held last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The kind of fitness I am able to maintain and the way I am able to train I really don’t know – it’s about the motivation to go into the next Olympic game but at this point in time I am not looking there. I am not looking at 2024. My complete focus is on Tokyo and I will play as this is my last, will try and give it everything,” Sharath told ANI.
The upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be held without spectators, Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa confirmed last week. Sharath has been training for the Olympics but playing in the Tokyo Games without fans was something he didn’t think about.
“Training camp, I think, was much needed at that point of time where lockdown was an issue and we had a lot of restrictions in regard to training so once we got into training camp, bio bubble was formed and it was good,” said Sharath.
“In the camp we made a lot of simulation like played a match as (if) it was a semi-final or quarter-final and then a final game as there was only one table and people were trying to cheer for us.
“But since now the decision has been changed and we again had to practice without fans in a quiet hall. I feel camp was really good and I am really happy the way camp went on,” he added.
