Kanak Jha
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USA
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USA
Kanak Jha is one of the most promising young ping-pong players. Being from the US, Kanak is an interesting talent as the US is not famous for ping pong. He is the best-ranked US ping pong player in the world, and the second-best player after him is ranked 168th.
Kanak has accomplished great things in his career since he started competing in international tournaments. This article delves deeper into the young ping-pong giant’s profile, equipment, world ranking, and outstanding achievements. Keep reading to know Kanak Jha’s net worth, ranking, equipment, and performance in the Olympics.
Quick Facts
Biography
Kanak Jha was born on June 19, 2000. He plays ping pong for the USA men’s national team. Kanak started playing at the tender age of 5, and his parents introduced him to the game. He would watch them play at a recreational center until, one day, and he decided to give it a go.
Family Support
Kanak has an older sister, Prachi, who also played for the US national team. With his enthusiastic ping-pong family's support, Kanak kept playing and developing his skills until he competed in an international tournament when he was 12. His family realized he had so much potential and thought he could use some world-class training resources. For this reason, he relocated to Sweden with his older sister to receive the best training from globally renowned players and coaches.
Training in Europe
At the Swedish club, Kanak has played against many table tennis professionals with different styles from various parts of the world. He had a rigorous training schedule that lasted 6 hours every day, six times a week. The training paid off in 2016 when Kanak succeeded in the North American Olympic qualifying tournament. The success was a highlight in his young career. The winner was to get into the Rio 2016 Olympics and get a teammate and a spot for their team.
Kanak was the youngest US national pig pong team member to play in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Even though he was defeated in the preliminary round by Nimal Alamian from Iran, the chance to be at Rio was a significant accomplishment for him.
According to the NBC Olympics, Kanak Jha’s residence is in Grenzau. After the Rio loss, Kanak’s coach advised him to move to Germany in Grenzau, where he played for one of the top-ranking clubs in the Bundesliga. As Grenzau is a rural town with few distractions, Kanak was able to focus entirely on improving his game. He competed for many teams in Bundesliga before landing the popular TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, which has the super-star French international player Simon Gauzy as one of its members.
Before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Kanak returned to California to train, and the 888 Table tennis center opening, which was being run by his coach, allowed him to balance spending time with his family and training effectively. Although the center is a great place to train when he visits his family in the US, it does not have the depth of talent needed to become the best ping pong player in the world.
Social Media
Kanak Jha is on twitter as Kanaka Jha @Pinginformation. His Instagram is @jhakanak.
Career
Kanak Jha has had a most fulfilling ping pong career since he first made his international debut in 2014. After performing well at the world cadet challenge, he was crowned North American Cup champion and qualified for his first men’s World Cup in Dusseldorf. He was the youngest player at the tournament ever at 14 years, but he only got to win the first round.
He has won many medals throughout his career and is on a trajectory to become a world champion. After the Tokyo Olympics, Kanak spoke about his career and said that he has a long way to go as table tennis players peak in their late 20s or early 30s. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics align with his career-peaking predictions. With his proven potential to beat the top players in the world, Kanak could potentially be a front-runner by that time.
Throughout his career, Kanak Jha’s equipment has been the Timo Ball racket, the Tenergy 05 rubber (forehand), and the Tenergy 05 (backhand).
Undoubtedly, the Butterfly Rozena table tennis rubber is the best that money can buy. It creates a sense of stability by compensating for subtle racket angles and directional swing errors.
You can also get a side tape like the famous Butterfly side tape for protecting your table tennis rubber’s or paddle’s edges. You can choose between the 10-meter and 50-meter roll.
To find more options and understand the best for your playing style, read our article on the best table tennis rubbers. The detailed buying guide and top-tier product list will help you pick a suitable rubber that matches your needs and budget.
If you need accessories like table tennis nets and ping pong paddle cases, check out our articles on the best table tennis nets and best ping pong paddle cases. Both have comprehensive buying guides and top-rated, budget-friendly products.
Achievements
Kanak Jha is a young ping-pong player with a promising future. According to Table tennis reference, Kanak Jha’s ranking is 30th globally. In September 2019, he was ranked 22nd. He has had many accomplishments in his career, with the bronze medal at the Buenos Aires in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games being one of his most significant wins. On top of being the youngest player at the Rio Olympics in 2016, he became the first American man to win a medal at an Olympics game.
Rankings
In the same year, Kanak won against India’s Manav Vikash and climbed the under-18 rankings by two positions. In the following year, Kanak set another excellent record for himself by winning the Men’s single title for the fourth time at the US National Table Tennis Championships. He chose not to participate in the 2021 US National Championships to focus on the Tokyo Olympics, but he is definitely set to amass more national titles.
Olympics Experience
Kanak was unsuccessful at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as he got knocked out of the team event in the first round by Sweden. He also lost the singles to Kirill Skachkov. Although it sucked to lose after all the significant preparations, he still proved he could hang with the best talents in the world after trampling over Sweden’s Mattis Falck 3-1 in the USA’s sole match.
Kanak Jha Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Kanak Jha is a great ping pong player with the potential to achieve his core goal: obtaining a top 10 world ranking. He fell short of his hopes at the Tokyo Olympics but is back to rigorous training at the German Bundesliga, where he plays top world talents. Although Kanak Jha’s Olympics records are not very impressive, he has the potential to beat the best players in the world. He has beaten ping pong greats like Wong Chun Ting and Mattias Falck. In a few years, Kanak Jha will be the best American ping pong player and a world champion.