CHENNAI: Paddler G Sathiyan won medals of all colors at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this month. Whether it’s gold (team event), silver in men’s doubles with Sharath Kamal or individual bronze — the 29-year-old has won it all. For someone known for showing his aggressive side on the court, Sathiyan collapsed after beating England Paul Drinkhall 11-9, 11-3, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9 to win the individual bronze medal.
“Although every medal I have won for my country is special, I found myself feeling emotional after winning that bronze medal. Before the tournament, an individual medal was one of my goals and having achieved it — was very special. I can’t remember the last time I cried in court,” Sathiyan told TOI.
The world No. 37 was pleased with how his body held up to a grueling schedule. “The work of my strength and conditioning coach, Ramji Srinivasan, paid off. He kept me in the best shape possible because we were playing multiple matches a day. To top it off, having coach S Raman sir has been a great blessing. These small contributions during critical situations have helped a lot,” Sathiyan said.
Although Sathiyan is happy with how things went at the quadrennial event, there are areas that need improvement. First of all, he is keen to add more power to his shots. To top it off, Sathiyan thinks he can get stronger physically. “I want to add more spice to my shots. It can happen when I spend more hours strengthening my core. Ramji has already set a schedule for me that I will follow in the future. The key aspect is once I I will be physically stronger, it will invariably add more meat to my shots,” Sathiyan added.
Despite a strong showing at the CWG, Sathiyan is already eyeing his next assignment — the World Tag Team Championship Finals to be held in Chengdu, China, from September 30 to October 9. “The team event is the next big tournament for us. Since we are in good contact, we can expect the Indian team to win some medals in this event,” said Sathiyan.
“Although every medal I have won for my country is special, I found myself feeling emotional after winning that bronze medal. Before the tournament, an individual medal was one of my goals and having achieved it — was very special. I can’t remember the last time I cried in court,” Sathiyan told TOI.
The world No. 37 was pleased with how his body held up to a grueling schedule. “The work of my strength and conditioning coach, Ramji Srinivasan, paid off. He kept me in the best shape possible because we were playing multiple matches a day. To top it off, having coach S Raman sir has been a great blessing. These small contributions during critical situations have helped a lot,” Sathiyan said.
Although Sathiyan is happy with how things went at the quadrennial event, there are areas that need improvement. First of all, he is keen to add more power to his shots. To top it off, Sathiyan thinks he can get stronger physically. “I want to add more spice to my shots. It can happen when I spend more hours strengthening my core. Ramji has already set a schedule for me that I will follow in the future. The key aspect is once I I will be physically stronger, it will invariably add more meat to my shots,” Sathiyan added.
Despite a strong showing at the CWG, Sathiyan is already eyeing his next assignment — the World Tag Team Championship Finals to be held in Chengdu, China, from September 30 to October 9. “The team event is the next big tournament for us. Since we are in good contact, we can expect the Indian team to win some medals in this event,” said Sathiyan.
