Ace paddler Sharath Kamal was announced as the first Indian ambassador of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) foundation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium during day 11 of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) season five on Sunday.
Sharath, who was elected to the ITTF’s Athlete’s Commission back in November 2022, was bestowed with the honour in the presence of Her Highness Zeina Shaban, princess of Jordan and a two-time Olympian, and Vita Dani, Chairperson of the UTT. Shaban and Dani are both board members of the ITTF Foundation.
The five-time Olympian was contacted by the ITTF last week regarding the ambassadorial role. “It’s a great role to be in. The development of table tennis is one (thing), that’s where the technical aspect comes in. This is (using) table tennis for development. The ‘for development’ makes a lot of difference,” he told Sportstar.
In the pre-Covid 19 era, Sharath had been collaborating with the Madras Seva Sadan to teach kids the sport. Table tennis, he says, would help the children, whose parents were daily-wage labourers, get a “sense of direction” in life.
“There will be a little bit of travelling. I’ll be there at the events more as an ambassador, playing a little bit of table tennis,” he explained about his new role.
Sharath, who was the male flag-bearer of India at the recently concluded Paris Olympics, is captaining Chennai Lions in the ongoing iteration of the UTT. However, the season hasn’t been well for the former champion.
“It’s been a tough season,” a smiling Sharath, who was visibly dejected on Saturday after losing to Goa, said. “We’ve been losing a lot of close matches. That adds a lot of pressure. The mixed doubles yesterday was quite a disappointment. Let’s see, we have one match to go,” he said
The 42-year-old also holds the distinction of having the most number of medals in the sport in Commonwealth Games history, with a record 13 in his kitty. This includes three golds and a silver medal which he clinched at the 2022 Birmingham Games.
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