Olympian Archana Kamath Quits Table Tennis Over Lack Of Financial Stability

Just days after giving her all at the Paris Olympics, 24-year-old Indian table tennis player Archana Kamath has shocked the sports world by announcing her retirement. Despite helping the Indian women's table tennis team achieve its best-ever Olympic result by reaching the quarterfinals, Archana has decided to step away from professional table tennis.

Archana Kamath Quits Professional Table Tennis, Cites Financial Concerns

According to The Indian Express, Archana Kamath informed her coach, Anshul Garg, that she no longer saw a future in professional table tennis. Instead, she expressed a desire to pursue higher education in the United States, citing concerns about the minimal financial rewards of the sport and the diminishing prospects of winning an Olympic medal.

The report also revealed that Archana has been academically focused throughout her table tennis career. She completed a degree in economics and recently fulfilled the requirements for a Master’s degree in International Relations, Strategies, and Securities. 

After dedicating over 15 years to table tennis and representing India at the Olympics, Archana felt it was time to pursue her other passion—full-time studies. Her father, Girish Kamath, expressed that she made this difficult decision with no regrets, having given her best for both the sport and her country. Massimo Costantini, the national table tennis coach, voiced concerns over India losing one of its top talents. He emphasised the need for a “stronger system” to support athletes in building a sustainable career in sports.  

Archana's path to the Paris Olympics was fraught with challenges. Her selection over the in-form Ayhika Mukherjee stirred controversy, but Archana proved her critics wrong by playing a vital role in India's historic performance at the Games. She also secured India's only win against Germany, defeating the higher-ranked Xiaona Shan.

All About Archana Kamath

Archana Kamath hails from Bengaluru and has been famed in the game of Table Tennis. She has been ranked as number 1 in four different categories and is the only player from Karnataka to hold the distinction. She topped U-15, U-18, U-21, and women's single categories from the state.

Kamath was introduced to the game at the very young age of nine. She was visiting her uncle's home in Mangalore which had a ping-pong table and it sparked her interest in the game. She credits this to her brother Abhinav Kamath who was much more interested in the game and would ask her to compete in games.

In 2013, she bagged 30 titles in Karnataka State Ranking Table Tennis Tournaments and became the youngest player to win the U-21 title in India when she was 14 years 5 months. She also won the National Championship (Singles Gold) and Doubles Bronze in the same year.

However, her international stint began soon after in the year 2014 when she was chosen to represent India in the Asian team at ITTF World Cadet Challenge. For this, she was awarded the silver medal and a Fair Play Award by ITTF.

In 2018, she secured the fourth position at the 2018 Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires by defeating Jing-Ning from Azerbaijan by 4-3. She, thereby, became the first Indian player representing the game of table tennis to enter the semifinals of the Youth Olympic Games. She also considered the badminton player, and former World number 1 player Saina Nehwal as her inspiration. Kamath once said she feels like a soldier when she serves the country for the sports. "I feel great when the national anthem is played and the flag goes up”, she said in an interview.