Archana Kamath quits professional table tennis to pursue academic career in US

New Delhi: India’s women’s table tennis player, Archana Kamath, who played a crucial role in the Paris Olympics 2024 to lead the country to the quarter-finals, announced her decision to quit professional table tennis and focus on her academic career.

The 24-year-old who had helped India achieve a historical feat in the Olympics by reaching the quarters, decided to carry forward her higher education in the US as a more viable long-term plan. She will be persuing her second Masters degree at the University of Michigan.

Archana obtained her bachelor’s degree in economics and she wants to return to India after two years and serve the nation, probably as an economist.

Her role models range from well-known economist Sanjeev Sanyal to the likes of tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal whom she met at the Games Village in Paris earlier this month.

“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. 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,” she said.