Kamal hopeful of a medal at Olympics

"I believe we have the chance to really get a medal now in Tokyo because our real competition has always been the other Asian countries. We have some exciting players in our ranks, expectations are high and the pressure is definitely there, but we believe in ourselves," he says.

New Delhi: Top table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal says Indian table tennis players can draw inspiration from their bronze medal-winning performance at the 2018 Asian Games and return home with a medal from the Tokyo Olympic Games.

"In the past few years, we have made giant strides, and winning bronze medals at the Asian Games was an indication of how far we have come," said Kamal in a chat organised by Rajasthan Royals with cricketer Sanju Samson.

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"I believe we have the chance to really get a medal now in Tokyo because our real competition has always been the other Asian countries. We have some exciting players in our ranks, expectations are high and the pressure is definitely there, but we believe in ourselves," he said.

India won their first-ever medal at the Asian Games, when G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and A Amalraj, entered the semi-finals of the Jakarta Asiad and lost in the semis.

Kamal was hopeful of a decent performance in Tokyo, and said his preparations were on course.

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"The one year break did put a halt to my preparations for quite some time because I had started preparing in 2019, but had to stop mid-way. I picked it up again in August 2020, and right now, I'm in the national camp and another 15-20 days to go before we get to Tokyo for the big thing," he said.

IANS