For A Sharath Kamal, the news that the central government had decided to bestow the prestigious Padma Shri award on him triggered a ride on a time machine. Among the congratulatory calls flooding in were people he hadn’t seen for decades — teachers, old classmates, people who he used to play with as a kid. 
“One of them, a man who resides in the US now, but used to play at our club when I was a kid, sent me a group photo of us together from back then,” he laughs. “In that, I am as young as my son is now.”

Of the long journey into the past that the award has taken Sharath on, the last twelve months stand out. Medals at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, a ninth national title and a career-best ranking of World No 30 at the ripe age of 36 — his achievements in 2018 mean that Sharath, who was reportedly rejected for the award twice before, was impossible to ignore this time. What makes his achievements even more remarkable is the string of career-threatening injuries he had to overcome to scale those highs. The award comes at a great time on the personal front too — the prestigious Dronacharya award was bestowed upon his father Srinivasa Rao last year. 

But for Sharath, what matters the most is that this is some much-needed recognition for table tennis — he is the first Indian paddler to get a Padma Shri. Youngsters like Manav Thakkar (a former junior World No 1) can now look at what he’s done and dream of repeating history one day. “I would want them to go even further — get a Padma Bhushan or a Vibhushan. I have set the benchmark but now they need to better it,” he says. “But this is really big for Indian table tennis. There will be a belief now that paddlers can also get awards like these. It is a great morale-booster for the fraternity.”

Once the nostalgia for the past passes, there will remain plans to be drawn up for the future. “There will be an increased pressure of expectations on us (Indian paddlers) now, after the year that we have had,” Sharath says. “I don’t know if we will be able to match up to that but we will try. For me personally, the next big target is the Olympics — I want to win a medal there.”