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Paris Olympics 2024 star Archana Kamath dropped a shock bomb by announcing her decision to quit table tennis and pursue her career in academics. The young paddler who played a significant role in guiding the women’s table-tennis side to their first-ever Olympics quarterfinal, opened up on her decision and revealed that she wants to serve India in some other way. The 24-year-old is pursuing her Masters in Public Policy at the University of Michigan in the USA, and is quite excited to be re-entering her student life.
The Bengaluru-born paddler also stated that her decision has nothing to do with gaining a better financial future as it has been taken care of by her employers at Indian Oil, OGQ and the government. Kamath opened up on her decision and revealed, "I have always liked studying, as much as table tennis. I had inquired about this course in Michigan last year as well but then we qualified for the Paris Olympics as a team for the first time and I wanted to focus on that.”
She added, "Now that the Olympics are done, I want to study more and come back to India after two years and serve the people in a different capacity. My decision has nothing to do with financial returns. I have got all the support I have needed while playing for India, which has been the biggest honour.”
Talking about her memorable Olympics campaign, Archana said, "The best thing about the Olympics was being with seniors like Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra. The environment was so good. I also got to meet Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. I made memories for life there. I have also loved fighting for my country and that is something I will miss the most. I hope to keep playing here."
Kamath concluded by revealing her study plans, "I have always been interested in policy making. The main goal is to serve India. I just want to see how I go about my course. The eventual goal is to come back and serve India." So, has she thought deeply about being an economist? I really admire Sanjeev Sanyal's work. His wide range of work inspires me.”
