Having represented India at the Paris Olympics a couple of weeks ago, Archana Kamath shocked everyone with her decision to call it time from table tennis at 24. Archana was part of the Indian women's team at the Paris Games alongside Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra.
She was the only Indian to win a match in the quarterfinals of the team event for India against Germany as her teammates, Sreeja and Manika, lost their respective contests. Archana had said that the 'passion for academics' motivated her to call it time to the sport.
Archana, who is resuming her academics in the USA, has stated that her main goal is to return back to India and serve the country. "I have always liked studying, as much as table tennis. I had inquired about this course in Michigan last year as well but then we qualified for the Paris Olympics as a team for the first time and I wanted to focus on that," Archana said as quoted by PTI.
"Now that the Olympics are done, I want to study more and come back to India after two years and serve the people in a different capacity. My decision has nothing to do with financial returns.
"I have got all the support I have needed while playing for India, which has been the biggest honour," she added.
The 24-year-old hopes to continue playing the sport in the USA. "The best thing about the Olympics was being with seniors like Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra. The environment was so good. I also met Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. I made memories of life there.
"I have also loved fighting for my country and that is something I will miss the most. I hope to keep playing here (in the US)," she said.
She says she is interested in policymaking and wants to serve India ultimately. "I have always been interested in policy making. The main goal is to serve India. I just want to see how I go about my course. The eventual goal is to come back and serve India. I really admire Sanjeev Sanyal's work. His wide range of work inspires me," she said.
