Paris Olympics star Archana Kamath quits table tennis to study in US
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New Delhi: Archana Kamath, who was part of India’s women’s table tennis team at Paris Olympics, has decided to call it a day and pursue education abroad, NDTV reported.
This is despite she helped India make a history at the 2024 Paris Olympics going past the Round of 16 for the first time.
India eventually lost the women's team battle to Germany in the quarter-finals but Archana emerged in it as the sole performer, winning the only game against much higher-ranked Xiaona Shan.
It is now reported that the 24-year-old plans to relocate to the United States for further study, which she reportedly shared with her coach Anshul Garg.
The decision comes from the feeling that there is no guarantee of a medal in the LA Games in 2028.
Her decision has come as a shock to Anshul Garg who had a conversation with her after returning from Paris.
"I told her that it's difficult. It's going to take a lot of hard work. She's ranked outside the top 100 in the world but she improved so much in the past couple of months. But I think she had already made up her mind to go. And once she makes up her mind, it's difficult to change it," The Indian Express quoted Garg as saying.
Archana's selection for the Paris Olympics triggered debate after she was chosen over Ayhika Mukherjee, who had beaten World No. 1 Sun Yingsha earlier.
However, Archana helped India win the only match against the Germans in the 1-3 quarter-final loss.
Archana whose only aim was an Olympic medal previously told the outlet: "My brother works at NASA. He's my idol and he too encourages me to study. So I make the time to complete all my studies and I enjoy it. I'm good at it too.’