EXCLUSIVE | 'Not going to be easy to match CWG 2018 medal tally': Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

While on the court, you will most frequently see him exulting, much like a tennis player looking to rally a zestful crowd by his side and that best describes the 29-year-old. 

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran certainly means business when he steps onto a court. Long rallies, blistering backhand strokes, winning points often greeted with a clenched fist and frequent shrieks of exultation. His opponents are not much beaten as bludgeoned into submission on most occasions, although Sathiyan is never less than courteous and sporting at the handshake, that erstwhile intensity replaced by a polite smile.

It is a winning formula that has brought the wiry Chennai native his career-best world ranking of 24 three years ago and made him the highest-ranked Indian paddler at World No. 35 currently. As the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham kicks its way into the spotlight on Friday, Sathiyan will be one among many to relish the prospect of India outmatching its past CWG momentum.

India swept the team events at Gold Coast as the men matched the women to seal a memorable gold with an emphatic 3-0 win over Nigeria in the final, long before Manika Batra soared above the rest for a historic women's singles triumph that remains still fresh in the memory.

The table tennis contingent racked up its best-ever CWG medal haul of eight at Gold Coast and capped a resurgence of national pride. This was a marked improvement from India's disappointing showing in Glasgow years ago when it only managed a silver in men’s doubles. 

Crowning glory at Gold Coast

All of 25, a valiant Sathiyan did the unthinkable at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where he lapped up gold in style in the men’s team event, followed by silver and bronze in both doubles events only days later. This load of success stands as a testament to his insatiable thirst to improve, barely bothering to succumb to pressure.

"It was a resounding success. It was my first big global event on the senior stage. Despite having competed in several World Championship tournaments, everything was new for me at that time, suddenly a very different ball game. I'm glad I performed above expectations in my maiden outing. The confidence I gathered taught me how to handle pressure and perform to the best of my abilities on the biggest stage, only to start playing even better. There will be pressure no doubt, but I know how to handle it so much better now. The aim is to better the medal tally, not just on the individual event but also changing the colour of medal in doubles events," avers Sathiyan, as Republic Media Network caught up with him in an exclusive, candid interaction from Birmingham.

Breaking new ground in Zagreb

Already aware of the threat Jorgic Darko could escort on the court, Sathiyan swept us off our feet unannounced in first round of the WTT Contender Zagreb 2022, leaving the reigning European champion on tenterhooks, who in turn feared a possible capitulation. Sathiyan's forehand gained first blood in the match – setting the tone. Consistent errors became inescapable, yet Darko fought hard to find his way back into the contest, but to no avail. Sathiyan maintained his edge in that game to leave Darko trailing and with work to do. The Slovenian was by no means playing far below his level, it was simply that Sathiyan was producing strokes on that day which no mortal could attempt matching. 

"Beating Darko, a World No. 6 gave me quite a thrill (smiles). That too right before the Commonwealth Games. That victory instilled a lot of confidence in me. He was the current European champion, one of the very best players in the world. Nothing unusual, I was playing a lot of aggressive table tennis, taking my chances and going about my natural shots. This couldn’t have come at a better time. I am definitely carrying the momentum into Birmingham," he said, with a gleam in his eye.

Self-belief, perseverance, and execution

As such, his greatest genius lies in the ability to navigate the challenges of ambiguous competitive moments and conquer them. A window of opportunity awaits the all-powerful lefty, as the Birmingham Games would strike a no different chord with Sathiyan's calibre. As befits the face of breakfast cereal, the 2021 national champion is hungry for medals in all four events he will compete in - singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles, and the team event.

"We have a chance at every event. The men's team has a huge chance, although it certainly would not be easy to win gold. With competitors like England & Nigeria around. But certainly a medal, if not gold, is possible. We are in a good position to win in men's doubles and mixed events. All three have fairly good chances of a podium finish. The toughest for me, however, would be to medal in men’s singles. That is my primary goal. I want to make it four (medals) this time, winning in all four events. With the way I have been performing lately, medalling in all four seems possible," he explains.

"We had a great outing last time, a record-breaking medal spree was beyond amazing. It is not going to be easy to match that tally for sure, so anywhere around 5 or 6 medals look possible. There will be skyrocketing expectations, we will be favourites. We have put extra focus on doubles events. My approach would be aggressive gameplay from the beginning. That has helped me win matches in the last few years. We have worked out our strategies for potential opponents from England & Nigeria, and I'm sure we will put our best foot forward with that kind of homework done."

Redemption for a lost glory

It's been twelve agonizingly long months for Sathiyan who was left stranded at the 2020 Olympics. For him to pull off major upsets over higher-ranked combatants would be nothing short of sweet redemption for the Tokyo letdown. 

"Tokyo has taught me a good number of lessons, in fact, which have only helped me in my career. I have been almost always a player who forged greater comebacks after setbacks. That has been me most of the time. The same happened after the Rio Olympics, I came back really strong and won two Pro Tour titles in 2016 and 2017. That was followed by Commonwealth Games in 2018, and later the Asian Games," he reminisces.

"People began talking about us medalling at the Tokyo Olympics, so you could very well understand at what levels we had improved over the last 4 or 5 years. I have grown a lot since Tokyo 2022. I have worked on my mental well-being, apart from the physical. We have had a series of in-depth analyses of games, improved a lot on my serves, and brought even more variety to my game. That has been reflected in my performance in the last year. So, these things will surely come in handy."

As the Indian battalion does the spadework for Birmingham splendour, Sathiyan will certainly be keyed up to be a cut above.