One of the positives that came out of the downtime during the pandemic in 2020-21 was Gnanasekaran Sathiyan’s evolution as a player. “I have become more mature. I am taking better decisions on court. Off court, the pandemic helped me be more aware.”
The 30-year-old table tennis player, currently ranked No. 41 in the world, was someone who dwelled on tactics, to strategize about a game without focusing enough on himself. “To improve on my game, my technique, where to change my tactics, etc., the pandemic gave me the opportunity to focus on me. I felt that change happen. I have started to improve on my skills, I am trying to improve my weaponry,” he says over the phone.
Already a swift mover, Sathiyan has worked on his speed, his fitness and mental conditioning that’s helping him play the big games. “The (Tokyo 2021) Olympics was a big lesson, which I put to work at the Commonwealth Games (Birmingham 2022). There was a lot of pressure, but I could deliver. I am more mature and self-aware, about what I should be doing in critical situations. I have started to take control of myself at tournaments,” he says.
Sathiyan lost in the second round in Tokyo, a heart break as he calls it, but in the CWG last August, he won a singles bronze, a silver in the men’s doubles with Sharath Kamal and a team gold medal. In 2021, he also won his maiden national title.
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“I have learnt a lot and come back from setbacks. I changed a lot of things in my game and my approach. I was happy to win the singles medal in CWG under immense pressure. I had never cried on court—it’s the first time that happened. The year 2022 was one of the special years in my career,” says the right-handed paddler.
He’s been home only for half-an-hour when this conversation happens—Sathiyan was returning to Chennai from France, where he plays for the Jura Morez Tennis de Table team in the French Pro A League. He got back into the league in February, after taking a break for his wedding, and has three wins and two losses this year. The League is aimed specially to get Sathiyan acclimatised with the country that will host the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
He says the advantage with places in Europe, Japan, China, Germany among others that have their own leagues is exposure, handling pressure, getting into high intensity matches and learning to come out of tight situations. While playing with the top 20-50 players, he could learn better how to work as a team, confront a situation. “Mentally, it’s made me stronger, playing in this competitive league,” he says.
It got him the much-needed match practice after the wedding break, to get back into shape and earn back his confidence before the WTT Star Contender event that starts in Goa with the main draws from 1 March. It’s the biggest World Table Tennis event to be held in the country, which makes Sathiyan, who has been for long espousing the need for international events in the country, happy.
He feels the WTT Star Contender is a far more competitive field, tougher than Olympics, because more entries are allowed from a country in WTT events. Plus, it’s a build-up for the Hangzhou Asian Games to be held in September and next year’s Olympics. Unfortunately for the tournament and fortunately for other players, Olympic champion and world No. 2 Ma Long has pulled out of the event along with No. 3 Wang Chuqin, which improves Sathiyan’s chances of pulling off one or more upset wins.
“I have improved by leaps and bounds but there is scope to improve my power because I am more of a speed player. Speed and agility have been my forte. To get more explosive power, it’s important that I improve on fitness. I am a good baseline player, but need to improve on serves and receives. As a kid learning the game, a lot of people neglect those aspects and I have done the same.”
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Sathiyan and mixed doubles partner Manika Batra, currently ranked sixth in the world, have also decided to focus on targeted practice this year to make a push for the top three ranking. They now have a planned schedule, a lot of tournaments, and a process of analysing games and sharing thoughts. “Manika is a fantastic doubles player, a bold player. She has courage to go for the shots, which I have learnt from her. I always wanted to be like that,” Sathiyan says.
“I am fast on court, can hit the ball fast. Her way is with placements and I try to finish. Her deftness on court and my speed, that go well with each other. Her variations are her strength. But we both need to work on our power game.”
Supported by the Sports Authority of India’s TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and GoSports Foundation, which gives him access to tournaments, equipment, experts like mental conditioning coaches and dieticians, Sathiyan says: “They have my back not just when I am winning but when I am down too. I hope to have that support so I get that elusive Olympic medal.”
First stop, though, is Goa where home advantage may give Sathiyan just the leg up he needs to get into the top 20 rankings, which is one of his goals for 2023.
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