By The Germany-based Youth Olympic Games bronze medalist, Kanak Jha, is trying his hardest to raise the table tennis profile in the United States. The 22-year-old gave Ma Long loads to think about at the World Championships, and his efforts seem to bear fruit.
The USA took a prominent six-member squad of two women and four men to the ITTF World Championships in Budapest. Jha went out in the last 64 of the men’s single – here’s everything you need to know about the Olympic Ma Long champion, Kanak Jha.
About Kanak Jha
Born on June 19, 2000, Kanak Jha is an American table tennis player with a record of winning four straight national titles between 2016 and 2019. He’s of Indian descent and was the US national champion four times, winning the Olympian two-time (2016 and 2020).
Making his debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Kanak Jha took over the world of table tennis – from California to Milpitas, he’s one of the youngest to take a trip to the Olympics under his belt. Beyond his age, he’s quite an intriguing player – his authority enables others to peek into the extremely competitive, global tennis community. Jha is smart, athletic, and highly skilled.
Kanak Jha Career
Kanak Jha completed the men’s singles event as part of the American team in 2016, where he was the youngest athlete to participate and the first American born to qualify for the Olympics.
Two years later, Jha completed the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, where he took home the bronze medal – the year was a breakout year for Kanak, as he defeated various notable top players, including Quadri Aruna, Wong Chun Ting, An Jaehyun, and Lin Yun-Ju.
Again in 2019, Kanak took home his fourth straight US national title, pulling off a bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in mixed doubles and singles. He also defeated Kristian Karlsson and Anton Källberg, leading the United States past Sweden out of the group stage.
Kanak Jha secured other notable international wins in 2020, including Uda Yukiya and Zhou Qihao. However, the pandemic wasn’t a good time for Jha as he lost seven games to Liam Pitchford and deuce in the seventh to Chuang Chih-yuan (his favourite player growing up). In mid-2020, he signed with the German Bundesliga team in Ochsenhausen.
Kanak Jahan was selected from the USA to represent his country in the men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics. Kanak Jha did his last few days practising for the Olympics in 888 table tennis centres in the United States; later, he became its ambassador of it. He devoted all his time to preparing for the Olympics; he did not even compete to defend his US national title in July.
From California to Sweden to Germany
Born in Milpitas, California, to parents from India, Kanak Jha is inevitably skilled with great athletic ability. Channelling his energy into table tennis, he’s a potential world-beater. His older sister Prachi, too, has an interest in this sport.
Kanak and his family had to leave the US and encounter stiffer competition to keep in touch with the sport’s elite. In 2013, Kanak and his family moved to Hallstrand Bordtennisklubb, Sweden, where he could train under a world-class coach.
Kanak Jha Net Worth
As of 2023, Kanak Jha is one of the wealthiest and most popular players in the table tennis landscape. According to Wikipedia and Forbes, Kanak Jha is estimated to have a net worth of around $5 Million. Most of his income comes from the sports he plays; other sources may not yet be known to us.
Keep checking back with us for more updates – we will keep you posted on new information and news as soon as it’s available!
