India’s women’s table tennis team made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making it past the Round of 16 for the first time ever in the nation’s history. India eventually lost the women’s team battle to Germany in the quarter-finals, where Archana Kamath was the only paddler to have won a game. India eventually lost the match 1-3 and bowed out of the competition. Though reaching the quarter-finals was historic in India’s table tennis history at the Olympic Games, Kamath wanted more. With there being no guarantee of a medal in the LA Games in 2028, the young paddler has decided to quit table tennis professionally and instead study abroad.
After returning home from the Paris Games, Kamath had an honest conversation with her coach Anshul Garg about the prospects of earning a medal in the next games. The coach, understandably stunned by Archana’s stance, decided to give an honest response
“I told her that it’s difficult. It’s going to take a lot of hard work. She’s ranked outside the top 100 in the world but she improved so much in the past couple of months. But I think she had already made up her mind to go. And once she makes up her mind, it’s difficult to change it,” Garg told The Indian Express.
Archana’s selection for the Paris Olympics was a chatter of debate before the start of the quadrennial event, especially after she got the nod over Ayhika Mukherjee, who had beaten World No. 1 Sun Yingsha earlier.
Keeping aside the chatter around her selection, Archana focused on the game and did really well in helping India won the only match against the Germans in the 1-3 quarter-final loss. Archana has the backing of TOPs, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), and other sponsors, but that isn’t enough. An Olympic medal is what drove her, but now studying abroad is looking like a better career path.
“My brother works at NASA. He’s my idol and he too encourages me to study. So I make the time to complete all my studies and I enjoy it. I’m good at it too,” she had told the paper earlier.
Archana has also been described as a brilliant student by her father, who said that the paddler has no regrets about the career choices she has made.
“Archana has always been academically oriented and all along her TT career has pursued her studies with graduation in Economics and has recently completed the requirements for a Master’s degree in International Relations, Strategies, and Securities. Having played table tennis with so much dedication and passion for more than 15 years which culminated in her representing our country at the Olympics, she felt it was time for her to pursue her other passion- full-time studies. She has taken this difficult step with absolutely no regrets and after having given her best for the sport and the country,” Archana’s father Girish said.
Financial sustainability of sports like Table Tennis is a matter of concern, especially considering the drastic step Archana decided to take after the Paris Games. But, Eight-time national champion and current Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary Kamlesh Mehta feels change is taking place quickly.
“Table tennis is getting a lot of corporate backing. The Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has all corporate owners. Players are being supported by professional sports agencies too. There’s a lot happening and the government with TTFI is doing whatever we can to support players and create a system that makes players want to stay in the sport. The number of professional academies that have come up in the country is a testament to that. Our results on the international stage – even in youth tournaments – show that we are doing something right,” he said.
While there’s support for Table Tennis stars in terms of equipment and training, Archana’s coach Garg feels the sport is still far from becoming a platform of livelihood for players. Hence, Archana’s decision made sense to him.
“The top players generally don’t have any problem because they get a lot of support. But what about the upcoming players? Yes, they get support in terms of training and equipment. No expense is spared there but what about a livelihood? That gets difficult so Archana’s decision is understandable,” Garg said.
