A couple of weeks after the Indian women’s table tennis team scripted history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making it past the Round of 16 for the first time ever in the Games, Archana Kamath, one of the key members of team, on Thursday announced her retirement from competitive sport to focus on higher studies.
Archana, 24, was the only paddler to have won a game against the much higher-ranked Xiaona Shan in the quarterfinal that India eventually lost 1-3 against Germany to bow out of the Paris Olympics.
Though reaching the quarterfinals was historic in India’s table tennis history at the Olympic Games, Archana, ranked 122 in the world, decided to move away from the sport.
“It was not an easy decision for me to make, but if I have retired from competitive table tennis, it is only and only because of my love for academics. Table tennis is an amazing sport that I have had the privilege of playing for a long time, and my love for it continues. I have never thought about nor played TT with financial returns in mind,” Archana said in a statement.
Archana, whose parents are doctors specialised in ophthalmology, said both TT and academics have played a huge part in her life and that both have made her the person she is.
“I took a decision to pursue my higher education after the Paris Olympics, by enrolling in a full-time two-year Master’s program in Public Policy. I somehow felt inside that now is the time, and that I did not want to postpone my academic pursuits any further.”
The former National champion thanked Indian Oil Corporation, Olympic Gold Quest, SAI/TOPS, Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES, Karnataka) and all her coaches in her journey for helping her play the sport in a competitive manner.
The Karnataka paddler’s selection for the Paris Games became a subject of debate before the start of the showpiece event, especially after she was preferred over Ayhika Mukherjee, who had beaten World No.1 Sun Yingsha earlier. However, Archana silenced her critics by playing a crucial role in India’s historic run at the Games.
Her decision to quit was influenced by her passion for academics and her brother’s example, who works at NASA.