He is first male athlete from US to reach round of 16 in table tennis
New York: Indian American table tennis player, Kanak Jha, 24, made history by securing US’ best Olympic run in Men’s Table Tennis.
He became the first male athlete to reach the round of 16 since Jimmy Butler in 1992. He is also the only player for the US.
Jha has previously represented the United States in table tennis at both the Rio and Tokyo Games.
His journey at the Paris Olympics began with defeating Korea’s Cho Daeseong, who is ranked No. 20 in the world, with a score of 4-2. This victory was particularly noteworthy as Jha is ranked 125th globally.
On July 31, Jha continued his impressive run by defeating Greece’s Panagiotis Gionis, also with a 4-2 score, advancing to the round of 16.
Jha’s path to Paris has been fraught with challenges. He faced a year-long ban by the US Anti-Doping Agency for accumulating three whereabouts failures within 12 months. This ban sidelined him from the sport until March of this year.
Additionally, Jha turned to a GoFundMe campaign to financially support his journey to the Paris Games, raising over $12,000 out of his $100,000 goal. “I was out of the sport for 16 months, which was tough in a few ways. I’m a professional table tennis player, so financially being one of them,” Jha said in a press conference. He credited the GoFundMe contributions for helping him prepare for the Paris Games, emphasizing his desire to represent his supporters and make history by winning a medal.
Jha, a native of Milpitas, California, moved to Sweden at 15 and then to Germany at 17, all to pursue a professional career in the sport that he loves.
He hopes his performance in Paris will raise awareness of the sport in the US “The sport isn’t that mainstream in the States,” he said. “I hope in the Olympic Games, and also other events, I can continue to influence some kids. Hopefully, some kids who watch the games here are inspired by it to pick up a racket.”
