When table tennis champion Sharath Kamal watched MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), he was almost in tears. Much like Dhoni, the now-popular paddler was once a railway TTE at the Mambalam station in Madras. “There is a scene in the film that has Sushant Singh Rajput (who played Dhoni) sitting in a bench, watching trains go by and wondering if he would remain a ticket collector all his life. I have sat in stations in Madras exactly like that, before I saw success in table tennis,” recalled Sharath.

One of India’s most celebrated table tennis players, Sharath went down memory lane at ‘The Sporting Side’, part of the talks hosted by Madras Musings celebrating Madras Day.

In conversation with Srinivasa Ramanujam, Deputy Editor of The Hindu (Metroplus), the five-time Olympian spoke about the times when he would cycle from Choolaimedu to Mylapore to attend training sessions. “I owe a lot of my success to the city’s thriving table tennis culture. I had so many champions to look up to. The club culture here – where we focus on overall growth rather than just individual sporting growth – helped me hone my skills,” he recalled.

Sharath, who studied at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and Loyola College, went on to represent India at the highest level, becoming a force to reckon with in the world table tennis circuit. “I have always been a proud Chennaiite. During the time when I lived and trained in Europe, primarily Germany, I would miss the city and my mother’s cooking a lot.”

Now retired from table tennis, the champion is actively looking at giving back to the sport that gave him name and fame. Part of that will be his involvement in a High Performance centre at Melkottaiyur, a training facility dedicated to grooming future champions. “My unfulfilled dream was to win an Olympic medal for India in table tennis. We hope to achieve that through the younger generation of table tennis talents.”

Published - August 22, 2026 10:07 pm IST