While Sharath himself is overwhelmed to have that honour, the purest question posed to him after that didn’t come from a journalist, but from his daughter: “Will they give you another certificate after the Tokyo Olympics?” she asked, as the champion father shared that with Timesofindia.com with a smile.
Whether the Tokyo Olympics happen or not, world No. 31 Sharath is back breaking sweat around the TT table to continue his quest for Olympic qualification from where he left off in March, when he won the Oman Open to end his 10-year wait for an international title.
The recent sports debate in the country, however, was not around Olympic qualifications or getting sports back on track amid the pandemic. It instead centred around the National Sports Awards, where as many as five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna Awards set a new record besides raising questions around some of the winners and, while some felt some deserving names were also overlooked.
Sharath chose not to send his name for Khel Ratna this year, not because he didn’t want to, but because he was mistaken about the eligibility of the performance period to be considered. Sharath thought it was for the performances in the last one year, whereas actually achievements of the last four years are taken into account.

But was Sharath hoping to win the Khel Ratna had he applied? The three-time Olympian answered that and other questions in this interview with Timesofindia.com (before the awards were handed out on August 29).
Excerpts…
Congratulations for the ‘OLY’ credentials the IOC has honoured you with?
Thanks. I didn’t think it would mean so much.
Are you overwhelmed?
More than the honour, (it’s) the kind of comments I got for it. The way people are reacting is really fantastic.
What does it mean to you personally?
Sporting careers are, say, just for 10 years on average. Few exceptions go on to play for 15 years or more. What after that? So this is a fantastic thing that the IOC came up with (in 2017), which keeps you connected within the Olympic community for any help post your career or working for a cause, like the current Covid-19 situation.
After I applied for it, I was going through my paper cuttings. I was thinking like how I was at the 2004 Olympics, my first Games. I actually said in an interview then that ‘if table tennis needs to be popular, we need superstars to market the game.’ At the end of that interview, I said ‘I hope I am one of those superstars.’
Talking about super stars, the TT fraternity now has a Khel Ratna among itself, Manika Batra. Have you already congratulated her?
Her phone is completely off, can’t get through to her. I said okay let the ceremony get over, then I will call her. I started calling her in the next two days (after the award winners were announced), but both hers and her mom’s phones were switched off. So I thought let it sink in and then I will talk to her. I am very happy with the Khel Ratna for table tennis. Last year I got the Padma Shri.
But the awards have often been surrounded with controversy, and this year was no different. What’s your opinion, particularly on those who deserved to win the Khel Ratna but were overlooked?
Neeraj Chopra and Kidambi Srikanth. A lot of people are not talking about what Srikanth has done. Being world No. 1 (in April 2018), winning four Super Series (in 2017), that is overlooked. I am really happy what Manika has done at the 2018 CWG (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and Asian Games (1 bronze), but I saw one report saying if Manika is getting, why shouldn’t her partner (mixed doubles bronze at 2018 Asian Games) also get it. I had won two bronze medals there (men’s singles and mixed doubles).
But that’s something different. What Neeraj and Srikanth have done is being world champions (Chopra in juniors). It seems like the boys will have to wait (smiles).
Do you support the opinion that giving as many as five Khel Ratnas somewhere devalues the biggest sports award from the Government of India?
I respect the original idea where Khel Ratna was given to the best sportsperson in the country…However, say 10 years ago, we didn’t have so many world titles or world champions, like for example Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting). So maybe from one Khel Ratna, it could have gone to 2 or 3 (like since 2016), saying that it’s getting more and more difficult (to pick just one winner). But five is, of course, too much.
Let me ask a tough question. Would you have won the Khel Ratna this year had you applied for it?
I didn’t apply for it. Actually, it was my mistake because I was under the misconception that Khel Ratna is given for the best performance of the past one year only; I didn’t know that it has been changed to last four years. So I would have applied, but the thing is that I would have felt personally very hurt if I would have applied and Manika got it. I think even for the Sports Ministry to overlook my performance and give it to Manika would have been difficult. I don’t know how that situation would have been, but I do know that next year if I apply, there is a high percentage that I will not get it…Next year, again Srikanth and Neeraj will be there; and more than me, they deserve it. Okay, I won the Oman Open this year and probably I am in that league as well; but I am still only world No. 31, Srikanth was world No. 1.
Do you think the rules and points system are fair in terms of being all-inclusive across sports and tournaments?
Over a period of time, we have to change the rules. It’s very difficult to compare a team sport to an individual sport or a non-Olympic sport to an Olympic sport. I won the Oman Open and in 2017 I was in the Indian Open semifinals. In February, Sathiyan and I were in the men’s doubles finals (of Hungarian Open). These all are fantastic performances in world-level tournaments. But these tournaments don’t figure on the list anywhere. This points system was introduced in 2014. Since then India has also improved at the international level, so it needs to have more clarity, bring in more events.