Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal believes mental conditioning to be as important as physical training

It is that time of the year again when the Indian athletes are completing their final touches of their preparation as they head on to the Commonwealth Games in a few days’ time in Birmingham. Indian table tennis sensation Achanta Sharath Kamal who will be heading the Indian contingent in Birmingham underlined the importance of the training camp in Porto that the table tennis contingent is going through for their Commonwealth Games preparation. The Indian paddlers will face the Portugal national team as a part of their preparation.

“This exposure trip would be the testing ground for what we have been preparing for and evaluating our position and I believe it would be the best setup for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

Sharath Kamal highlighted how the entire contingent is in the final stages of their preparation and here training with the Portugal team will only help them get better as they will head out to a WTT event in Budapest, Hungary before moving to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.

The entire Indian contingent comprising of 10 paddlers will be taking part in the training camp arranged in Porto from 3rd to 10th July.

Sharath Kamal who is a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist has highlighted the important of mental training as much as physical training and skill development. He feels that is an area which can elevate one’s game to a much higher standards. “It (mental conditioning) has to be done in every session. There are techniques that our mental conditioning coach teaches us that we follow pre-session, during the session, and post-session,” he added,

The 40-year-old who has been with the Indian national team scenario for two decades shared his mantra of playing so well at the Tokyo Olympics against the greatest paddler China’s Ma Long. He shared how he did not think much about the technical aspects. He only wanted to put up a fight and like that he stood up after every blow and it was such a treat to watch. Although he lost the battle he did not go down without a fight and he demands exactly that from his teammates heading into the Commonwealth Games.

“If you look at that match, you will see that there was nothing technical, it was just the fact that I was standing up for that fight and not giving up. It was the intent that everyone was talking about. That doesn’t come overnight. There is a particular way you train in each of your sessions and that helps you. All this is a very essential part of mental preparation,” he concluded.

The Commonwealth Games has been a happy hunting ground for Achanta Sharath Kamal and he will hopefully be able to impart his knowledge on the youngsters and help them get success in years to come.