Sathiyan attends India camp despite cramped schedule

While the Chennai lad boasts of a game which is on a par with the elite in the world, the level of dedication he shows towards representing the country is immeasurable. Despite having a cramped schedule, the 26-year-old has allocated time to train with the Indian squad, which has been going the extra mile in the lead up to the World Team Qualification Tournament.

The 2020 Olympic Qualifiers are slated to take place in Gondomar (Portugal) from January 22 to 26. Sathiyan returned from South Korea only on December 30 (2019), after a week-long camp at the Jincheon National Training Centre. The World No.30 will head for Germany on January 2 (2020) to don the ASV Grunwettersbach colours in the German Cup.

“The morning session was helpful and fruitful. I am happy to join the rest of the contingent. We are playing doubles after quite some time and it was good to get into the groove,” said Sathiyan, who joined Sharath Kamal, Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar at the SDAT AKG, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Tuesday.

“We played a lot of games to adapt to different kinds of serves and returns. We wanted to know how well the pairs have gelled,” added Sathiyan. Although four out of the five matches in a tie are set to be singles, the ace remarked the team is laying a lot of emphasis on doubles as it will kickstart the proceedings in all the duels.

“Right now, we are trying all possible pairs so as to be comfortable. All of us are very good. We have worked out a few strategies. Depending on the opposition, we will have to put out our doubles combination,” said Sathiyan. He stressed India, seeded fourth in the knockout event, couldn’t expect easy clashes all because of tough nations like Hong Kong and Croatia in the fray.

“A lot of things will depend on the draw. But, India is ready for everything and has a good chance of making it to the Olympics,” he sounded confident. According to Sathiyan, coaches Arup Basak and Soumyadeep Roy are expected to join the squad in the Iberian nation for the Qualifiers.

At the camp in Jincheon, the top-ranked Indian was put through the paces against the Korean national team members. Sathiyan loved his week’s stint there, terming the experience “great”. “The facilities were fantastic. I have never seen something like that before. I actually practised at the Olympic Centre. I really loved being there,” he signed off.