Indian star paddler Sathiyan Gnansekaran ended the calendar year with two amazing medals at the Asian Championships medals. Courtesy of his performances the Indian paddler broke into the top 15 rankings along with her doubles partner Manika Batra.
The Mixed doubles in table tennis is now a part of the Olympics and that increases the hopes of Sathiyan to achieve big things in the upcoming Summer Games. Sathiyan had a below-par Tokyo Olympics according to his lofty standards.
But his current focus is on doing well in the upcoming events in the coming year- the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
In a recent interaction with Insidesport, the Indian paddler revealed his Tokyo Olympics disappointment and how he is working hard to seek redemption in the upcoming events.
Starting with his opinions on the mixed doubles journey with Manika Batra, Satiyan said, “I’m extremely happy with the start we have had in mixed doubles. Me and Manika Batra did not get too much time prior to starting our mixed doubles journey but we hit it off instantly and results have followed swiftly. A mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender event in Budapest, then we played well in Tunisia as well. We were so close to a historic World Championship medal.”
Speaking on his future plans, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist is desperate to get back to his best in both singles and doubles. “I had a good break after the World Championship and got my batteries recharged. Now I have started preparations including working on my fitness and slowly starting to get back to the groove in terms of playing on the table, ” Sathiyan opined.
He then highlights how breaking into the top 10 in the rankings is his main focus for now. But he is aware of how that will be difficult as he will go up against tougher opponents more often.
“In terms of doubles, breaking into the Top 10 is now our sole focus. Our start has given us a lot of confidence and we did not expect such quick results. But now things will get tougher as our opponents are more aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We need to keep at it, steadily improve our standing with more and more tournaments and eventually build up a good base for 2024 Paris Olympics, ” Sathiyan concluded.
