(by: Kanak Jha)
I am Kanak Jha and I am USA’s top professional Table Tennis player. I started playing in California when I was 5 years old and my love and passion for the sport grew over the years and to pursue my dream of being a world class table tennis player I moved to Europe at a young age of 15. Through 8 years of hard work l managed to reach a world ranking of 19. Along the way, there have been setbacks, obstacles and hurdles and just recently I came back after 15 months of inability to compete. This resulted in a total loss of income for 15 months; however, with the dedicated help of my coaches, my sponsors & supporters, my friends and my family I have remained true to my cause and pursuit of my dream. With my story I hope to continue inspiring the young talent in the U.S. that with determination and hard work, dreams do come true.
I qualified for two Olympic Games in Rio 2016 (youngest American athlete) and Tokyo 2020, won a bronze medal in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (first male medal for USA), reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 World Championship in Men’s Singles in Houston (first time in more than 60 years for an U.S. athlete), won 4 straight National Championship titles (2016-2019) and just recently after being absent from competitions for 15 months, I made an exciting comeback by winning my first World Table Tennis (WTT) event in Germany by beating 4 top world class Asian players back to back. My dream of making more history by getting the first table tennis medal for the USA in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, is what drives me daily.
The biggest hurdle I face is related to expenses since it‘s an enormous financial burden for me to maintain a sustainable professional career that adequately covers cost for training, living abroad, international competitions, travel, accommodation and most importantly having a private coach in daily training and in the various WTT events which could make a significant difference in the outcomes for matches at the highest level. My sponsors Butterfly, PingPod and 888 Table Tennis help cover some of the costs and I really appreciate it.
However, I still urgently need additional support as it is impossible for me in my current situation to achieve my goals and to chase my dream of success in Paris. I thank you all for supporting me in my journey thus far and helping me make history. I am certain that with your financial support and help, I can fulfill my dream of writing history by securing the first medal for USA in Olympic Games.
