No sponsors as yet as Sharath plans to head for greener pastures

New Delhi, Apr 23 (UNI) For Achanta Sharath Kamal, winning medals at the international level is proving to be a lot easier than finding sponsors and the ace paddler, who bagged two golds at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games last month, plans to dig deep in his pocket when he begins training in Europe from September this year.

First Indian to win the individual gold in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games, Sharath has offers from Spain and France but wants to go to Germany for more exposure and stiffer competition.

However, the 23-year-old will require upwards of Rs 10 lakh per annum as living and training costs which he is collecting in bits and pieces.

''The club system in Europe is fiercely competitive and with that kind of international exposure, we can really excel on the world-level,'' Sharath told UNI yesterday but added a rejoinder, ''The main thing, however, is financial support.'' ''I am yet to find a sponsor and it seems I have no other option but to foot the bills myself this year.'' What has been even more disheartening for Sharath and other athletes is the government's failure to fulfill its promise.The Union government had pledged to reward the sportpersons with Rs 20 lakh for every gold , 15 lakh for silver and 10 lakh for bronze in the games. However, despite an assurance by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself, the medallists have not received a single penny as yet.

The only cash-reward the Indian Oil paddler has received till date is a Rs one lakh cheque given away by the Table Tennis Federation of India during a felicitation function in the capital yesterday.

The lanky Tamil Nadu lad, however, is optimistic that sooner rather than later India Inc will sit up and take notice of the TT players.

''The kind of publicity and media exposure we are getting and the enthusiasm which the game has generated in masses suggest that sponsorship will come in near future,'' he said.

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