“Hope I’ll carry my good form into the Olympics” – Sathiyan Gnanasekaran speaks on his preparation for the Tokyo Games


“Hope I’ll carry my good form into the Olympics” – Sathiyan Gnanasekaran speaks on his preparation for the Tokyo Games

G Sathiyan

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has been one of India’s hottest prospects in table tennis over the course of the last few years. Ever since he made his mark with a bronze medal in 2011 at the Junior World Championships, the paddler has been going from strength to strength.

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Now, all focus will shift to the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games for the 28-year-old. After a difficult 2020, Sathiyan has turned things around with a stupendous run of form this year. He played tours in Japan and Poland and impressed with his consistent performances. He also defeated the seasoned Sharath Kamal to clinch his first national title after years and years of agony in the final of the nationals.

With the Tokyo Olympics coming up in 75 days’ time, Sathiyan spoke at a virtual press conference organized by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran on preparations for the Olympics

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Sathiyan was asked firstly about his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics and he said, “We’re getting really close to the Olympics. Given the circumstances, I wanted to train in Chennai. I have always played really well in the home setup with my fitness trainer and coaches. That has been my positive vibe.”

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Continuing, “I’ll be practicing with Anirban Ghosh for the next two months, working on a lot of details. Fitness would also be critical for my performances. Next months, there’s no competition so we’ll play practice matches in Chennai. That’s what we’re looking at. If there is any Indian camp it would be good and there have been talks to be organized,” he added.

About the experience of playing in overseas leagues, Sathiyan said, “Definitely, the leagues played an important part. I went to Poland in the beginning of April. Played 3 or 4 quality matches and won it all. So that really helped in playing the Olympic qualifiers and the national events. The experience I gained in the Japan league and Polish league, playing back-to-back matches, helped me in being in the match mode and perform better and better in the upcoming matches. I hope I’ll carry the same into the Olympics.”

Finally about his expectations, “This time it’s only going to be singles event. So I wanted to do training which is more on to my game. This time I’m lucky that I could go on with my personal training. Like I said, I’ve been working on the aspects which I need to improve on the power front and variations. I hope in the next couple of months, I’ll be able to make a considerable improvement,” Sathiyan signed off.

Also Read: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran defeats Sharath Kamal to clinch first national title

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