I can learn so many things from Sharath Kamal: Manav Thakkar ahead of Paris Olympics 2024
At 24, Manav Thakkar has already established himself as one of the more exciting talents in Indian table tennis. Still, an ominous challenge ahead of him is his maiden bid for the Olympic Games. But the Rajkot-born is hungry to further nurture his skillset and he underlined recently that rubbing shoulders with soon-to-be five-time Olympian and India's ace paddler Sharath Kamal will widen his knowledge and experience.
"I can learn so many things from my seniors, like Sharath Kamal, because he's playing his fifth Olympics," the men's doubles gold medalist at WTT Contender 2024 averred (via Ultimate Table Tennis).
Thakkar is part of the three-member squad for the men's team event in the Paris Olympics, alongside veteran Kamal and national champion Harmeet Desai. Since the format's introduction in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this is the first time India has qualified for the team event in both men's and women's categories.
Team matches will consist of four singles matches and one doubles match, each played in a best-of-five games format. For the Indian paddlers, it's an unknown territory but Manav exclaimed that the preparations have been focused on it.
"The team format is completely different so we've started to train towards it, both me and Harmeet," he said.
When I won against Kristian Karlsson in 2018, it gave me the belief that we Indians are at the top level: Manav Thakkar
Still in his teens then, Manav Thakkar made the headlines back in 2018 when he stunned World No. 20 Kristian Karlsson with an attacking display to win 11-9, 8-11, 11-8. Since then, his climb has made him a force to reckon with in Indian table tennis.
But he still goes back to that at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex and stresses that it made him believe that Indian paddlers too could lock horns with the world's finest.
"In 2018, I remember I played against Kristian Karlsson, he was Top 20 in the world at that time, and when I won against him, it gave me the belief that we Indians are at the top level," the 24-year-old stated via UTT.
To date, Manav already has an Asian Games bronze to his name, in addition to several medals at international tournaments, and the bragging rights of holding the World No. 1 title in both the under-19 and under-21 categories during his junior days. But he now awaits to make a resounding step to announce his arrival at the grandest stage of them all.
The table tennis competitions at the 2024 Paris Olympics will span from July 27 to August 10 and all the matches will be played at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.