Achanta Sharath Kamal — Table tennis legend who won the Khel Ratna 2022

Achanta Sharath Kamal, the table tennis legend and Commonwealth medalist was bestowed with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna by President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday. President Droupadi Murmu felicitated the 40-year-old table tennis veteran with the highest sporting honour of India in the National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Sharath Kamal who became the second TT player after Manika Batra to receive the honour was the only sportsperson to get the Khel Ratna award this year.  While receiving the award amid overwhelming applause from the distinguished guests present at the Durbar Hall, Sharath was the highlight of the programme.

Born on July 12, 1982, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Sharath began his professional career in table tennis at the age of 16, and took part in many state-level competitions. He became the National Champion for the first time in 2003, at the National Table Tennis Championships. He won the senior nationals five times consecutively from 2006 to 2010.

Breaking the record of eight-time National Champion Kamlesh Mehta, Sharath is the first Indian table tennis player ever to become ten times Senior National Champion. In 2004, he was awarded with the Arjuna Award and received India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri in 2019.

In 2004, Sharath represented India in Olympics in Athens and represented the country in the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar. He became the first Indian to win the Pyongyang Invitational Tournament held in North Korea in the year 2007.  He was also the only Indian Men's Table Tennis player to be selected for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Earlier this year in August, Sharath clinched three gold medals and a silver and became the most decorated Indian athlete to have participated in the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham. The table tennis legend won gold medals in Men's Singles, Men's Team and Mixed doubles and Silver in Men's Doubles.

Ahead of the award ceremony on Wednesday, Sharath said in an interview with ANI that receiving the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award would be the best way for him to end a historic 2022 .

“It is a fantastic moment. Not just for me but for the whole Table Tennis fraternity because of the kind of performances that I have had over the last three-four years. I am slowly starting to peak now in my career and the way I played the 2022 Birmingham Games. I got these three medals. Three gold and one silver. I can't ask for more 2022 has been fantastic and this is the best way to finish 2022 with the Khel Ratna award.”

"I am really happy that it has finally come now after 30 years of being in sports I have come to the stature and the best sportsperson in the country. Initially, I was the best sportsperson in Table Tennis. Slowly over the years, I have scaled up to the height where I am the best spokesperson in the country. I am really happy to get the award now," he said.

The national sports awards selection committee in India has only put forth Sharath as a candidate for the highest honour given to a sportsperson this year. Last year the committee recommended 11 players while in 2020, five players were recommended.

The Khel Ratna is awarded for a sportsperson's most remarkable and outstanding exploits over the course of the past four years. It comes with a medal, a scroll of honour, and a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakh. It is India's highest sporting honour given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It was rechristened from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award last year.