Archana Kamath sent shockwaves through the country on Thursday (August 22) when she suddenly dropped a bombshell announcing her decision to quit table tennis at 24.
An athlete who played a monumental role in helping India script history at the Paris Olympics shocked the fans of the sport with her decision to step away from the game. Her announcement triggered several speculations and rumours that the lack of financial returns in the sport forced her to make the call.
However, Archana's coach Anshul Garg has quashed all such conjectures and clarified that the 24-year-old has quit the sport because of her passion for academics.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, Garg revealed that "Archana was inclined towards studies from the very beginning" and therefore her decision has not caught him by surprise.
"I was not shocked or surprised by Archana's decision," Anshul told India TV. "Her parents have a medical background and her brother is at NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration). Archana was inclined towards studies from the very beginning. She joined me two years ago. She was good at both studies and table tennis. I wanted her to represent the country for four to five more years but I didn't want to force her."
Watch Anshul Garg's exclusive interview:
Anshul confirmed that Archana is not someone who longs for stardom and limelight and she competes to win and not just to fill up the numbers at an event.
"Archana is not on social media. Money is not the reason for her to quit the sport as she comes from a well-off background.
"She didn't have a word with me on retirement during the Paris Olympics. She prepared really well and worked really hard towards the goal.
"After the Games, she told me about her decision and I tried to talk her out of retirement but she had made up her mind. Archana never wanted to just compete. She wanted to win medals for the country," Anshul mentioned.
Anshul heaped praise on Archana and said that she was progressing really well in her career. He also revealed that this was not the first time that Archana wanted to quit the sport.
"She is a very hard-working, sorted, composed and sober athlete. She was always in a dilemma but we convinced her to back herself and therefore she continued for as long as she did. It is certainly disappointing for me. During my career, I have come across several incidents of such kind and we as coaches can only back the players' call," Anshul added.
Archana's sudden exit has left a major hole in India's women's team but Anshul has assured that there are plenty of talented players in the reserves who can fill that void.
"We have plenty of depth in our line-up and therefore Archana's exit won't have a debilitating effect on our squad. Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Ayhika Mukherjee are some of our top-drawer players and in addition to that, we also have some exciting young talent rising up the ranks in the form of Tanisha Kotecha and Sayali Vani."
