Sharath Kamal Becomes First Indian Ambassador of ITTF Foundation at UTT 2024

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Sharath Kamal Achanta, renowned Indian table tennis player, has been appointed as the Foundation Ambassador of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Foundation.

An Overview of the News

• Kamal is the first Indian to hold this prestigious position.

• The announcement was made during the celebration of the ITTF Foundation's TT4Health Programme at the 5th season of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT 2024).

Event Details:

• Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• Date: UTT 2024 is being held from 22nd August to 7th September 2024.

Recognition:

• Sharath Kamal was presented with the Foundation Ambassador t-shirt.

• The presentation was done by ITTF Governing Board Members, Princess Zeina Shaban of Jordan and Vita Dani, Chairperson of UTT.

About Sharath Kamal:

• Olympian: 5-time Olympian and 10-time Men's Singles champion at the Senior National Table Tennis Championships.

• Commonwealth Games (CWG) Achievements:

  • First Indian table tennis player to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

  • Gold medals in Men's Singles and Men's Team event at the 2006 CWG in Melbourne, Australia.

• Awards:
  

  • Arjuna Award (2004)

  • Padma Shri for Sports (2019)

  • Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2022)

• Other Roles:

  • Co-chair of the ITTF Athletes Commission.

  • Captaining the Chennai Lions in UTT 2024.

About ITTF:

• It is the global governing body of table tennis.

• Founded - 1926

• Headquarters - Lausanne, Switzerland.