Want to crack top 20 ranking in 2019: Sharath Kamal

Ace paddler Sharath Kamal, who is currently ranked 33 in the world, on Thursday said he aimed to burst into the top 20 in 2019 and the next big thing on his mind was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 36-year-old player also believes that the two table tennis bronze medals which India won at last year's Asian Games held in Indonesia have given them the confidence that a medal at the 2020 Olympics was a possibility.

"Personally, for myself in 2019, the goal would be to get into top 20 in the world ranking and 2020 Olympic Games is the next big thing," Kamal told reporters here in the presence of former national champion Kamlesh Mehta.

"The major thing in the plan is the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, especially after winning medals at the Asian Games - we have won two bronze medals in 60 years. Those medals gives us a lot of belief that even at the Olympics it is a possibility (to win medals).

"Because in the Asian Games the competition is very high and more or less they are the ...