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India's table tennis ace Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is currently ranked 38th in the world in men's singles. The Chennai-born paddler punched his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics by finishing first in his group at the 2021 Asian Qualification event.
Back in May 2019, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran had become the first Indian to sneak into the top 25 of the men's singles table tennis rankings. But after missing out on a number of events in 2020, Sathiyan saw his rankings slide.
However, he isn't bothered much by it. What gives Sathiyan more confidence than climbing places on the rankings ladder is taking out players who are ranked in single digits.
Speaking to Sportskeeda's Indranil Basu in an exclusive chat, the 2018 Commonwealth Games men's team gold medallist said:
"More than rankings, bringing down big names in top 10 gives me more confidence. Yes, rankings are important especially when qualifications are coming up. It plays a big role.
"Sharath (Kamal) and I were doing a lot of calculations in our qualification process. We knew that both of us were quite safe with our high rankings. It motivates us at the world level. We need to show everyone that any Indian can also achieve this type of world ranking."
My coach never made me feel satisfied: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
Sathiyan had a breakthrough year in 2019, courtesy of his impressive performances on the international circuit. However, his coach Subramanian Raman never let him feel satisfied, which kept the hunger to succeed alive in him.
"When we were playing really well, my coach never let me be satisfied. He just used to say, 'Congrats, well played and let's focus on the next match.' It was that kind of approach that led me to climb from one place to another," Sathiyan further added.
Sathiyan also spoke in detail about the specific improvements he has been making in his gameplay. He said:
"A lot of improvements have been made in my backhand power and my forehand footwork. We wanted to get better with every match. We were constantly improving and despite my ranking getting up, we never got satisfied.
After a meteoric rise up the rankings ladder, the ace paddler has now set his sights on breaking into the top 10.
"My goal earlier was to get into the top 100, then slowly it became top 50, then top 20 and now it is to get into top 10. When you keep pushing yourself to the brim in the international arena, you unleash yourself," Sathiyan Gnanasekaran concluded.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is currently training with his sparring partner Anirban Ghosh at the Raman Table Tennis High Performance Center in Chennai. The men's table tennis singles tournament at the Tokyo Olympics will begin on June 24th.
