There was a pause on the other end of the phone call. Gnanasekaran Sathiyan is generally articulate, and delivers his message eloquently with the same speed of thought that matches his reaction-time on the table tennis court. But now he hesitated when asked to talk about a new feeling he may have experienced on the tour.
The Indian star had spent most of his career chasing. But when the new world rankings in mixed doubles were updated earlier this week, Sathiyan and Manika Batra became the new World No 7s. Now, they’re the ones being chased.
“We’ve come very quickly to the top, I haven’t been able to digest it yet,” he finally said, to Scroll.in.
“We had set a target that we want to break into the Top 10 in a year. We’ve done it in 7 months. That’s pretty quick, a meteoric rise and we’re happy about it.
“But now that you’re playing better, the rankings have come up, you’re more exposed. There’ll be more people analysing your game, coming up with strategies. It gets tougher and tougher, but that’s the fun.”
The latest ranking achievement came just a few days before the duo picked up a silver medal at the World Table Tennis Contenders in Doha. En route to the summit clash they beat World No 4 team of Chun Ting Wong and Hoi Kem Doo of Hong Kong. They lost in the final to World No 1 I-Ching Cheng and Yun-Ju Lin.
Sathiyan doesn’t mind the loss though – it gave him a glimpse of the kind of the level Batra and he need to be to start winning consistently against the six teams ranked better than the Indians.
“They’re fast, and (Cheng) in particular is a powerful server and receiver. It’s only by playing against these players regularly that we get to improve,” he said.
And the opponents know that. The 29-year-old asserted that all international teams try to record and analyse opposition to come up with strategies. The Indians are no different, but Sathiyan explained how the recordings are also going to help them get better as well.
“Recording my mixed doubles matches is not something I always used to do, but I started when Manika and I paired up in August,” he said.
“We’ve been looking at our own footwork, for example, to see what are the things we can improve upon.”
The one thing the Chennai player knows for certain though is the chemistry he and Batra share as doubles partners.
“Even in our singles matches we are careful about our placement of shots, and that’s something that continues when we’re playing together. It helps create openings for each other. If I’ve played a shot in a certain area of the table, Manika knows why it’s there and she is ready to play the return,” he added.
“It’s something we’ve developed because we’ve known each other for so long on the circuit.”
And then there is Manika’s long-pimple rubber that adds to the team strategy.
This type of rubber is generally used by defensive players and can be tricky in that it produces the opposite spinning effect on the ball in the return shot than when it comes. For example, if the ball comes with topspin, it’ll be returned with backspin.
“It’s a rubber hardly any of the top men’s players are accustomed to playing against. So, when Manika uses it, they get thrown off. Their shots are then pretty (tame), so I can kill off the point.”
It’s a strategy that helped them reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships, and also win the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender event in Budapest last August – which was the first time they had paired up since they won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
They’re hoping to go better when the quadrennial event takes place later this year in Birmingham. And then make a mark at the Asian Games.
“With achievements like these, it helps us gain confidence when it comes to preparing for the CWG and Asiad,” he said.
“The Asian Games, in particular, is like the Olympics. All the big teams are there, China, South Korea, Japan. Six of the top 8 mixed doubles teams are Asian, so that just tells you how competitive the field is.”
Right now, though, the goal is to simply spend as much time as possible together on the practice table, and compete in as many matches as they can – hopefully winning a few titles on the way.
And now that they’re no longer the hunters, rather, one of the top teams others are trying to catch up to, the tour is going to get tougher.
“It’s not going to be easier in the Top 10,” he said. “But we have improved on the game and skills. We’re getting better – which certainly takes care of the rankings.”
The feeling of breaking the Top 10 is yet to sink in. But now that they’re there, they’re looking for a greater push up the ladder.
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