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Veteran Indian table tennis player Sharath Kamal believes Indian athletes have been punching above their weight with their recent performances, and are rightfully received plaudits across the global sporting world. He also believes, however, that the players' perofrmances are not an accurate representation of the support that they have received from the government.
The month of August brought glad tidings for the Indian sports fanatics at multiple prestigious global events. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian track and field athlete to bag a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in August. Badminton World No. 7 HS Prannoy, meanwhile, won the bronze at the BWF Badminton World Championships in Denmark, finishing on the podium for the very first time.
18-year-old Chess Grand Master R. Praggnandhaa was the runner-up at the 2023 FIDE World Cup, losing to the Norweigan Magnus Carlsen in the final. The teenager became the world’s youngest player to reach the World Cup final and the third youngest to advance to the Candidates tournament.
Speaking to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Bengaluru, Sharath Kamal said many players are going beyond their means to train and develop their gameplan, performing beyond the resources that are available within their reach.
“It’s very much (efforts from the athletes to punch above their weight). Lot of these players are doing much beyond what the system is able to support them. I wouldn’t say that the system is not helping them, it is doing its bit," he said.
Kamal also highlighted a number of Indian athletes that have performed well this year in different categories.
"But when you see the whole athletics, not just Neeraj Chopra and 4x400m guys. Look at the long jump guys, the high jump guys, look at the girl Priyanka (Goswami, 20km race walk) then you have Annu Ranni (Women’s Javelin Throw),” he added.
Kamal added that the system was slowly improving to help these athletes achieve their fullest potential.
"The infrastructure, the ecosystem, the support staff, and the structure that is built around is coming now. These athletes are actually giving back a lot of confidence to the governments, and to the corporates that this is something. If you can keep pushing us further then the sky is the limit,” Sharath Kamal said.
"A lot of structural changes are happening and people becoming vocal" - Sharath Kamal
The World Wrestling Championships 2023 will take place in Belgrade, Serbia, from September 16 to 24. A total of 30 Indian grapplers are set to participate in events like Greco-Roman, Women’s freestyle and Men’s freestyle at the Championships.
Indian players will have to compete under a neutral flag (ANA) instead of the tri-coloured flag, given that the United World Wrestling (UWW) has provisionally suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for not holding elections in proper time. The suspension came on the heels of the wrestlers' protest at India’s capital demanding the ouster of then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh.
Sharath Kamal, who is also the vice-chairperson of the Athletes Commission of the Indian Olympic Association, said that there have been a slew of structural changes in the Indian sporting administrations, partly due to players speaking up.
“There are a lot of structural changes that are happening. Some changes the government wants to do, some of them the federation wants to do, and some changes the players want to have,” he said.
Sharath Kamal acknowledged the value of players trying to change the system from within the organization.
“A lot of sportspersons are coming back in the federations because if you want to do a change you have to come inside, you cannot sit outside and keep complaining about what’s happening there. A lot of structural changes are happening and people, specially the players, are becoming more vocal,” Sharath Kamal added.
Indian wrestlers will be allowed to compete under the national flag at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, scheduled between September 23 and October 8. The entries for the Asian Games are sent by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) instead of WFI.
