Hyderabad: What a year young Indian paddler G Sathiyan is having. Chennaiite paddler first fulfilled his long-standing dream of winning the National Table Tennis Championships by beating nine-time champion Sharath Kamal. And now after a month of achieving the national glory, he qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old booked his ticket for Tokyo by beating Pakistan's Muhammad Rameez 4-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9, 11-2) in the Asian Olympic Qualification tournament held in Doha.
After qualifying for Tokyo Games, Sathiyan in an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat revealed his mantra to defeat India's finest Sharath Kamal, his preparations for the Olympic qualifiers, how playing in different leagues helped him, among other things.
Excerpts:
Q: You have qualified for the Tokyo Games. What does it mean to you?
Sathiyan: Qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics is like having a dream come true moment for me. I have dreamt of this day since I was young. As a kid, I used to tell my parents and relatives that one day I will represent India in the Olympics. It is a very special occasion for me, my family, my team and my coach. Without any doubt, this is the best moment of my career.
Q: How did you prepare for the National Championships and Olympic Qualifier, given the COVID-19 pandemic situation?
Sathiyan: Olympics Qualifications and National Championships were two important tournaments this year and we were quite prepared for it. Before the start of the event, we spent our own money and bought the table that was going to be used in the Nationals and the Olympic qualifiers. I installed the same table in my TT hall as I wanted the feel of the conditions that would be there. I wanted to get used to fast and spinny table and I think that helped me a lot getting familiar with the conditions.
And winning the National gave me a lot of confidence and I carried that same momentum into the Olympics qualifiers.
Q: Share your experience of winning against Sharath Kamal in the National and Muhammad Rameez in the Olympic qualifier
Sathiyan: With Sharath, it's always a cliffhanger and an amazing match, even for table tennis fans. We have played some marathon matches and this one was one of them. Winning against Sharath in National was really good. I also had the advantage as I was going into the match on the back of a victory a few weeks ago. He was coming back stronger even after getting down 2-0 down. It was really a great battle and a great win for me.
With Muhammad Rameez in Asian Qualifier, I was a bit anxious as I was thinking about qualifying for Tokyo Olympic Games. But I wanted to stay calm. I know, I was a big favourite, so I just wanted to play simple table tennis. And in the end, I comfortably won 4-0.
Q: You have played across different foreign leagues in the recent past. How did that help you in improving your game?
Sathiyan: The leagues have played a very big part in my career. You get so much match practice by playing in all those leagues. Bundesliga, where I played a couple of years ago, was the first major league I Played. And it empowered me to perform better on the international level. In the German league, I learned how to perform under pressure and how to play against a team. You also learn a lot of things by watching the top players from across the globe there.
After the Bundesliga, I participated in the Japanese league, T-League. The Japanese league is one of the toughest in the world. The match quality was very high and it also helped me prepare for the Olympics. I also played in the Polish League, Polish Superliga, where I got enough match practice.
Q: Who is your role model?
Sathiyan: I have been a Timo Ball fan. Playing against him in German League and getting an opportunity to share time with him was a magical moment for me. When I played against him in Bundesliga, I was awestruck.
--- By Varsha Singh
