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India's Achanta Sharath Kamal will participate in the Sports Authority of India's national camp for Tokyo Olympic-bound paddlers from June 20.
The 15-day national camp will be held at the Delhi Public School, Sonepat. Around 12 paddlers are expected to take part in the camp.
Sharath Kamal’s brother, Rajath Kamal, an analyst, said Sharath would attend the national camp to give himself a good practice session ahead of the Olympics.
“Sharath wanted to travel to Denmark for good match practice but unfortunately getting a visa was an issue. However, with a national camp to be started by the authorities, mostly next week, in Sonepat, he is looking to get good practice there,” Rajath told Sportskeeda in an exclusive conversation.
Watch: Tokyo Olympics-bound G Sathiyan trains with Anirban Ghosh in Chennai
Sharath Kamal to leave early for Tokyo
Rajath also said the table tennis contingent, including Sharath Kamal, might leave for Tokyo a little early to acclimatize to the conditions.
“The Indians might have a small dry or a test run in Tokyo before the Games begin. That way, they will have a first-hand feel of the conditions,” Rajath added.
Rajath said mental health might also be a focal point in the national camp.
All the players will assemble for the camp on June 17 and will undergo an RT-PCR test upon arrival.
They will undergo quarantine for three days, and post the quarantine period, the players will be allowed to practice. Regular COVID-19 tests will also be conducted for all the players.
Apart from Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, Sanil Shetty, Sudhanshu Grover, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Reeth Rishya, and Archana Kamath are set to be a part of the camp.
Manika Batra and Sathiyan, who are training in Pune and Chennai, are unlikely to travel to Sonepat.
Read: Indian paddlers won't go underprepared at Tokyo Olympics, says Sharath Kamal
It is understood that although players like Sathiyan and Manika are training with limited facilities, they wouldn’t want to take a chance undergoing travel, losing three days on quarantining, and getting exposed to training outside.
Most players, including Sharath Kamal, have taken two doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The government has also prioritized the second dose of vaccine for all Tokyo-bound players.
At the Tokyo Olympics 2021, Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan are competing in singles, while Sharath will also play in the mixed doubles category with Manika Batra.
The duo won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games and have clicked as a team.
