Star Indian Athlete Quits Sports After Paris Olympics, Wants to Study in USA; Leaves Coach Shocked

India's table tennis star, Archana Kamath, has bid adieu to her budding career. At the age of 24, Kamath made the decision to step away from the sport. Archana was a part of the Women's Table Tennis team at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra, who put up a strong outing against some of the toughest teams.

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Archana Kamath Quits Professional Table Tennis at 24 to Focus on Academic Pursuits in the US

Just Weeks after delivering a spirited performance at the Paris Olympics, Archana Kamath has reportedly expressed that she does not wants to play professional table tennis. It is a shocking move, despite the fact that the Indian Women's Table Tennis team did exceptionally well at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. As per Indian Express, Archana informed her coach Anshul Garg about der desire to leave the sport as she did not see a long-term future in professional table tennis. 

Kamath has instated that she will be focusing in her higher studies and plans to head to the United States, which her father said was a better and practical plan for her in the long run.

“Archana has always been academically oriented and all along her TT career has pursued her studies with graduation in Economics and has recently completed the requirements for a Masters degree in International Relations, Strategies and Securities.

"Having played table tennis with so much dedication and passion for more than 15 years which culminated in her representing our country at the Olympics, she felt it’s time for her to pursue her other passion- full-time studies. She has taken this difficult step with absolutely no regrets and after having given her best for the sport and the country,” Archana's father Girish Kamath said to The Indian Express.

The prime reason for Archana Kamath quitting the sport is that she could not see a future in the sport where the financial aid was nominal and the opportunity to win an Olympic medal seemed far-fetched. The lack of financial aid is said to be the prime factor behind her decision.

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The build-up for Archana Kamath's road to the 2024 Olympics was a rollercoaster as her selection over Ayhika Mukherjee raised a lot of eyebrows. But Kamath delivered a strong campaign against the global challengers and managed to defeat Germany's Shan Xiaona in the quarterfinal, which was India's sole win against the Germans.