Sathiyan focusing on mixed doubles with Manika Batra in Olympics lead-up as singles too tough

A WTT Star Contender held in India is where star paddler G Sathiyan would normally want to give his all and take advantage of home comforts to reach the tournament’s later rounds and improve his world ranking.

Since 2019, he’s been driven to maintain his place among the top 50 in the world, with entering the top 20 his ultimate target.

On Wednesday at the WTT Star Contender Goa at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Mapusa though, there was a shock in store for him. He’s used to being in the main draw of singles events, but low ranking meant he had to go through qualifying after not getting a wildcard. He won his first round of qualifiers, but then suffered a shock 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11) loss to World No.194 Vincent Picard in a topsy-turvy match.

Normally, he would be distraught after such a loss, but Sathiyan just shook off the disappointment, came to the practice arena, and asked his mixed doubles partner, India’s top-ranked women’s paddler Manika Batra, when she was free to train.

“I’m definitely giving more importance to mixed doubles in the lead-up to the Olympics. It’s ok that my singles ranking has been going down,” said Sathiyan, who has dropped to World No. 94.

The Olympics have mixed doubles as a separate category and the Sathiyan-Manika pair, ranked No.11 in the world, is poised to qualify for the Paris Games. Ever since they started playing together in 2021, they’ve had a phenomenal run, beaten top opponents, and even reached as high as World No.5 at one point. It makes them serious medal contenders in the French capital.

“We have a fair chance and an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal. You win that and it could change the face of the game. I wanted to focus on mixed doubles more where we have a chance in Paris. So Manika and I are trying hard. We aren’t in great shape right now but know that one win can change anything. Two wins in Paris and we win a medal. Right now my goal is that,” Sathiyan told The Indian Express.

Right after Olympics!
The India mixed doubles pair of G Sathiyan & Manika Batra script history by winning the 1st ever title at the Contender WTT Event at Hungary of the ITTF! They beat the top seeds and many other formidable pairs. Congratulations @manikabatra_TT @sathiyantt ! pic.twitter.com/v1obBmBBPY

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 20, 2021

He also has no qualms in admitting that he’s choosing mixed doubles over singles as he doesn’t stand a chance of medalling in the latter event.

“To be honest, it will be very difficult to win a medal in singles. I’ve participated once, maybe I could go two rounds further but still, you are two to three rounds away from a medal chance. I have to accept I am not as physically strong as the top athletes. My game is not that high yet and so it’s better I concentrate on something where I stand a chance at winning,” he said.

The conundrum

Though he’s nursing knee and lower back injuries and physiotherapists have advised him to rest, Sathiyan says that the World Table Tennis (WTT) calendar has become so packed that taking a break could hurt his chances of qualifying. That’s why he is only choosing to play mixed doubles at top-tier events instead of trying to improve his singles ranking.

“I missed a lot of WTT Feeder events – which could’ve been beneficial for my singles ranking — in favour of playing mixed doubles at Contender and Star Contender events. I had to take a call as my body isn’t allowing me to play everything,” he says.

Sathiyan says that the World Table Tennis (WTT) calendar has become so packed that taking a break could hurt his chances of qualifying. (File)

While Sathiyan has given up hope of qualifying in singles, Manika is likely to make it to the main draw of the Olympics and has to continue playing top events to keep her spot. It means they barely get any time to train together but Sathiyan says it’s imperative they find a way to do so.

“We’ve barely trained together for a total of 15 days in the last year. We’re trying to have a more robust training schedule. It’s not that easy because she has a personal coach and I also have mine. We have occasions when we’ve trained together in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai. Right now, all we can manage is short camps of 4-5 days,” he says, adding that having a national centre where they can train anytime would be hugely beneficial for the national team. It would allow them to train with their partners whenever they want rather than having to coordinate with their respective academies and coaches to book training slots.

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The only time Sathiyan and Manika get to train together is during tournaments and they try to make the most of it. “It’s what the Chinese, Japanese and Korean pairs do and we’re trying to do the same because in doubles you require a lot more coordination as we have to alternate our shots,” he says.

They’ve come far taking advantage of Manika’s pimpled rubber against top players who weren’t accustomed to playing against it and returned tamely, with Sathiyan then killing off the point with his ferocious forehand. But he knows that it will take much more than that to win in Paris. They need to work harder and, more importantly, together. The only issue is where and when.

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