People now believe we can beat the world’s best, says Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

The top-ranked Indian paddler created a history in the ATTC, where he became the second Indian to enter the men singles quarter-finals after beating An-Ji Song of North Korea. And the World no. 30 has stated that India could qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

"People have now started to believe that we can beat Chinese and Koreans. We have that belief as well. Now when we play them, we don't have that fear anymore," said Sathiyan, reported IANS.

"We take them as any opponent and have the belief that on a given day we can beat them. So the mindset of all the players throughout the country has changed. We have set a huge benchmark of beating Koreans and playing close matches even with top Chinese players.

"People now believe that we can beat the best in the world. It's not just me, but Sharath, Manika (Batra) and our juniors also are doing so well. The whole group is doing well," he added.

After losing to China’s Lin Gaoyuan 1-3 in the quarter-finals at Yogyakarta last week, Sathiyan would next be playing in the Swedish and German Open before taking part in the big World Cup.

"That's a big tournament where if I do well it will help my rankings. Let's see if I can do well in the two Pro Tours and then look to continue good form in the World Cup. We are looking forward to qualifying for the Olympics. Then we can focus on preparation. Rankings will take care of itself, I am focusing more on the process and working on my receiving skills and service. Also, I am working on playing a bit more aggressively," said the 26-year-old Chennai boy.