PTI

Ajmer, Mar 8: Achanta Sharath Kamal believes his extensive international exposure has helped him develop into an allround player but country's top ranked paddler has no hesitation in admitting that it would require a miracle for him to win a medal in the Beijing Olympics next year.

Here to participate in the 68th Senior National Table Tennis Championships, Sharath spoke to PTI about his short-term future plans.

"Beijing, for sure, is not going to be my best Olympic performance because I still have to develop my best game. I'm training hard but it's not very far and I would hope that some miracles happen and I end up on the podium. However, the ground reality is I need to improve my game more to have any medal hopes," the 24-year-old said.

Sharath, who recently broke into the top 100 and is currently ranked 86, said his priority for now is to enter the top 50 by next year.

"I would be playing six to eight international events to achieve that. I am a much fitter player now and that should help me realise my potential better," he said.

Qualifying for the Olympics tops Sharath's agenda right now but that should not be a problem, he said.

"I am quite confident of getting through and I will take things from there. I had no trouble in qualifying in 2004 and I am not expecting any major challenge even this time around," he said.

The top seed at the ongoing championships will be rushing back to Spain after the tournament to play in the local league there and said the exposure has done a world of good to his overall game.