We can expect an Olympic medal for sure, asserts G Sathiyan

The Indian table tennis team have been at their very best in the last couple of years ever since their impressive display at the 2018 Gold Coast CWG last year. They backed that up with another promising show at the Asian Games in Jakarta which was an indication of the progress made by the squad in a matter of months. Sathiyan, who was a member of the Indian team that took the bronze in the 2011 Junior World Championships, is confident that his teammates can bring home a medal from the next year's Olympics in Tokyo. 

"We have a good chance in mixed doubles - Sharath (Kamal) and I. We will work hard for that. Qualification is really tough. All the Indian players are playing better than they were in 2016. I will not put pressure on myself in Tokyo. I am aiming for 2024. But yes, I will play to my best if I'll qualify," Batra told TOI. 

"We have started beating the Chinese. We have started doing things on our own. Besides sports, Chinese are better than us in many other areas too! They have a huge infrastructure with every city having proper coaches, a syllabus for four years. That's how the grassroots system works. India is very new to the sports ecosystem right now. Like Bindra sir (Abhinav) said, 'Olympic is played every day and not just once in four years'. That's the main concept we follow," Sathiyan added.