Behind-The-Scenes Struggles Fuel Kanak Jha To Third Straight Olympic Appearance

When you play sports at the highest level, there are certain elements of athletics that everyone sees, such as the intense competition. Then there are the parts that nobody actually sees, but we all know they exist — the long days of practice, the hours in the gym and the stringent diets that consume elite athletes.

There is, however, another layer. It’s a deeper layer — one that casual observers don’t see and may not even know about.

“The financial burden is very heavy,” explained Kanak Jha, who has emerged as one of the premier table tennis players in the United States over the last decade. “You have to invest in yourself at a young age to even have a chance to reach a high level.”

Jha, 24, is currently representing Team USA at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 But unlike LeBron James, Scottie Scheffler and Coco Gauff, Jha doesn’t make millions in endorsements. His path to Paris has not been paved with private jets, personal chefs and luxurious housing. Sure, he has sponsors who have helped with the costs, but the reality is that much of Jha’s day-to-day financial burden falls on his own shoulders.

It always has.

“In my case, I needed to leave my home at a young age,” said Jha, a native of Milpitas, California, who moved to Sweden at 15 and then to Germany at 17, all to pursue a professional career in the sport that he loves.

“It’s financially tough,” he said. “Traveling, going to tournaments, having a private coach. You take that financial risk with only the hope you can become a top player and hope the investment pays off. But unless you’re in the top 1 percent of your sport, it’s very hard to earn a living being a professional athlete.”

While Jha lauds the support of his family, friends, coaches and sponsors, he acknowledges the realities of a sport like table tennis, where the best leagues, players and facilities in the world are in Europe and Asia. In order to reach his potential as an athlete, Jha had to risk everything — and he still is doing exactly that today.

With the mounting financial pressure, Jha created a GoFundMe campaign in April — a push for financial assistance that has raised over $10,000 (albeit well short of his $100,000 goal). In the GoFundMe post, Jha writes, in part: “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 … by securing the first medal for (the) USA in (the) Olympic Games.”

For Jha, that is the heart of the matter. He knows he’s never going to get wealthy playing table tennis. Earning Team USA’s first-ever medal in this sport means everything to Jha. Especially when you consider all he has endured.

Jha’s rise to prominence started when he became at 16 the youngest member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team and the first-ever American Olympian born in the 21st century. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team again in 2021, although he acknowledges that his performances at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were not as successful as he had hoped. 

The pandemic affected him both physically (due to the lack of competition) and mentally (with no travel and no way to see his family overseas). Still, Jha continued to climb the world rankings once play resumed following the COVID break.

He rose as high as No. 19 in the world — a position that likely would have automatically qualified him for the Olympics. He was emerging as a star in the U.S. and making a name for himself on the global circuit.

However, things unraveled shortly thereafter, as Jha missed three drug tests and was suspended for one year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Ultimately, Jha missed more than 15 months of action, during which he was not allowed to compete and also faced a variety of training restrictions.

Needless to say, Jha’s financial battle reached critical levels during the suspension, not to mention the physical and mental repercussions of sitting on the sidelines for more than a year. Yet today, he cites the silver linings of a year away from table tennis.

“I had been going non-stop for many, many years,” Jha acknowledged. “So I tried to use it as an opportunity to recover, calm down, spend more time with family and work more on aspects outside the game — my body, my mental state. I tried to take away some positives.”

When he returned from his suspension, Jha had no ranking points. He had to compete in two separate trials to earn a spot in Paris. In fact, he was thrust into Olympic qualifying on the first day of his comeback.

“It was like 0 to 100 for me,” Jha said. “It was very stressful and very difficult after such a long break. But I’m very proud of the way I came back. The goal was to qualify for the Paris Games — and I managed to do it. That’s all that matters.”

Of course, an Olympic medal would be the cherry on top of a journey filled with physical, mental and emotional obstacles. 

“That’s the biggest dream,” said Jha. “That’s the ultimate goal. I believe I’m stronger than I have been in the past Games. I’m on my way up right now. Each day I’m getting better since my comeback. It’s going to be a tough task, but everything is open. I believe I can make my dream a reality.”

Jha continues his push for an Olympic medal going into the men's singles knockout stage on July 28 at 4 a.m. ET.