Paris 2024 Olympics: Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran meets tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz at Olympic Village

Indian table tennis star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran posed with former world No. 1 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris 2024 Olympics village.

In a social media picture by a fan page, Sathiyan can be seen all smiles beside Alcaraz, who is leading Spain’s medal charge in Paris alongside the legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is part of the eight-person table tennis contingent – India’s largest table tennis contingent at an Olympics. He has started training for the upcoming events.

The 31-year-old paddler, who is India’s highest-ranked table tennis player, shared snaps from the team’s first training session in France on social media.

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Sathiyan Gnanasekaran aims to overcome Tokyo 2020 horror at Paris 2024 Olympics

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will be looking to make amends at the Paris 2024 Olympics after suffering a shocking second-round exit in Tokyo. He lost to 95-ranked Lam Siu Hang of Hong Kong.

He has suffered a phase of lukewarm form since then and failed to earn a Paris Olympics quota from the World Mixed Doubles Table Tennis Olympic Qualification tournament in April. He and teammate Manika Batra lost to a Malaysian pair with a world ranking of 153.

However, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sathiyan has been selected as a reserve member of the eight-person table tennis contingent of India alongside Ayhika Mukherjee. He will look to give his best whenever called upon in Paris.

The table tennis team also boasts other incredibly experienced players like Manika Batra, who is appearing at her third Olympic Games. The team also boast India’s flag bearer A Sharath Kamal, who is set to become a five-time Olympian.

The table tennis events of the Paris 2024 Olympics are set to start on July 27 and will finish on August 10. The matches will be played at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.