Hyderabad:Having experienced the highs and the lows of the game, G Sathiyan has evolved as player. He is more analytical and thrives on mistakes he does in his game, rectifies it and plays the next match with a better version of himself. Interacting with ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview over telephone, Sathiyan speaks about his learnings from the sport, a phase when he wanted to leave the game and why detachment from the sport can be required at times.
Excerpts:
Q. You have seen the highs -- during Tokyo Olympics and Commonwealth Games very recently, and the lows, what has wins and losses taught you?
A. It's a part and parcel of every sportsperson's life to see the highs and lows and to see the wins and losses. Certainly, I have seen it all and coming back from losses has always been my strength. I have come back strongly from tough losses. I think I have played really well after the Tokyo Olympics' loss and learnt from that loss. You are disappointed but it's important to work on what went wrong and have an analytical mind rather than just being sad. We always sit down and chart down the map, keep improving and be more proactive. Even in wins, it's important to take the factors which helped you and think what went right and try to do that again. It's a big learning curve in both wins and losses, especially losses. It teaches you a lot. I have been a constant learner and tried to always bring something new into the game and keep fighting, no matter what. It has really helped me. Playing in big tournaments has made me mentally strong to compete in big games. It has given me the mental energy and strength after the Tokyo Olympics. It has helped me to put a strong performance in the Commonwealth Games and the performance after that has also been really good.