It is the right time for me to play in big events: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran ahead of his first Commonwealth Games

The very first thing that strikes you as ace table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran warms up and starts talking -- that he is someone who has reached this pinnacle of success owing to sheer dedicated hard work and nothing else.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the World Number 49 spilled all his thoughts, aspirations and hopes for the upcoming XXI Commonwealth Games that will ensue from the 4th of April at Gold Coast, Australia.

After his impressive performance in the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open where he soared into the Round of 16, Gnanasekaran's surge was considerably dampened at the ITTF Challenge Series Polish Open where he went down fighting to Chile's Felipe Olivares (11-7, 5-11, 5-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9) in the opening round.

But Gnanasekaran isn't someone who gets set back by losses. Like a wise man and a true sportsman, he knows how to find the silvers linings from his failures too.

"I am loving this journey. Playing close matches, then winning and losing is a part of the game. It's a learning process for me. It's quite challenging. You do need failures to go back and see where you went wrong. It's the perfect mixture", the seasoned paddler said.

On being asked about the preparations, Gnanasekaran sounded very excited with how he is playing currently and remarked that the preparations for the upcoming Games are on full-fledged and they are, 'Fantastic!', in a word.

"We have been having a lot of tournament exposures, camps, so that was a very good training centre. When you play in a lot of tournaments, you are constantly testing yourself. That match-practice is very important. Overall, it's been a good mix-up of good training and sweating it out at the tournaments," he said.

Gnanasekaran, who is in his top form, admits that the Commonwealth Games is going to be very important for him as it would be his very first outing in a multi-sport event at this level where he will be representing his country but he refuses to be daunted by it.

"I just have to go there and play it like a normal tournament otherwise the pressure builds up," he said about his big matches ahead.

"I'm all prepared..It's the right time for me to play in big events for the country", felt Gnanasekaran, who regards the CWG to be, "very important for Indian table tennis as it is a very good medal prospect that really helps us to get the boost to aim even further for the bigger events like the Olympics and the World events"

"It has been the most awaited event for the last few years for me, and finally it is happening and it's just a few days away from now," he could not conceal his excitement.

The table tennis contingent from the Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games was not quite successful but Gnanasekaran is hopeful about changing that this time around. The World No. 49, who has become the highest ranked Indian player surpassing table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, has his eyes full of dreams.

Playing his first Commonwealth Games, the star player confessed that his mantra is to,"stay focussed and give my best to matches and not worry about what's gonna come." Staying in the "tournament mode" now is what he has prescribed to be the best.

"We definitely have a chance at a gold medal in the Men's Doubles and the Team events. These are the events where we really have a good chance", was what the World Number 49 can predict assuredly.

"If I and Sharath can keep up this form, one medal in the Singles is also definitely possible," remarked a very confident and enthusiastic Gnanasekaran. "All the teammates are playing extremely well and we are confident of bagging a few medals in Gold Coast," he added.

Gnanasekaran has been inspirational as he learned from his mistakes and built up his form, put in the hours perfecting the technique and not letting expectations and the consequent nervousness gnaw at him. He shot to fame and barged into the top 100 with his incredible performance by winning in the September 2016 Belgium Open men's singles category. That was his first pro title and soon there was no looking back.

Becoming the 2nd Indian player to win an ITTF event, Gnanasekaran's 2017 was dreamlike with him winning bronze in ITTF Challenge - Thailand, ITTF Challenge - Belgium, ITTF Major - Swedish, Silver in ITTF Major - Bulgaria in doubles men category. He also won gold in the ITTF Challenge - Spanish Open, in Almeria (2017) in the men's singles category.

"Working a lot on the game and technically trying to be perfect is what I have been striving to do..and with the GoSports Foundation coming in, I went into a lot of other aspects. I got the right support system. Along with the help of my coach and GoSports I have been able to come here today", said a grateful Gnanasekaran.

The seasoned player remarks how all his "years of hard work came into one shell..and I got the courage to try out a lot of different skills " and he slowly recognised the ways to pick himself up and build again. He did not let the pressure get to him and decided to take every point, every game, every set and every match as it comes.

"I was improving day by day and playing out my skills in the matches was the best form of knowing where we stand. I was able to deliver in crucial stages against top-class players. Mentally, I was able to play better and have a much clearer idea of what I was doing. It was a slow progress which just clicked at the right time and worked wonders", he said.

But with all the success, comes expectations and with the expectations, comes the pressure to perform well every time. But Gnansekaran knows that this pressure and their tailing expectations are what the adrenaline will bank upon in the crucial matches he will be playing in the CWG.

On being asked how he deals with the ever-increasing pressure, the 25-year-old said, "Having pressure is a privilege in itself, that is the way to approach it. Not everyone will be able to take the pressure but this is good for me. If people are expecting something from me, I'll be happy to deliver it."

"We have players like the legendary Sharath and other incredible players ready to support us. We have a solid team so there is nothing to worry about really...We'll be able to handle the pressure smoothly." he added.

He further said, "Focussing on the process and the opponent and taking care of the nerves and playing your very best is all that is required from you. The performance matters the most, the results follow suit."

Heading to Germany for another Pro Tour on 20th, Gnanasekaran and the rest of the Indian contingent will be setting sail for Gold Coast on the 30th of this month. The chances of them returning with medals around their necks are stronger than ever and we can only hope, that they will return successfully from Australia.