Chennai gave India its table tennis Olympians

Sports and Chennai go hand in hand and with time the bond has become stronger. The city's tryst with sports has led to the often repeated phrase, the ‘knowledgeable Chennai crowd.’ Along with top notch cricketers, tennis players, hockey stars, the city has also been the hub of various other sports like table tennis. Famous TT players from the city have brought glory to the country at various national and international levels. Last week, Chennai-based Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Sathiyan and Sharath will take part in the singles, while Sharath will play in the mixed doubles category alongside Manika Batra. This is the first time that an Indian table tennis team for the Olympics features two players from the state.

Amid the euphoria surrounding his berth in the singles draw of the Olympics, Sathiyan’s mind rolled back to the days he embraced the sport as a toddler. “I come from a family which had no association with sport. I remember taking up TT when I was five at Chandra’s TT academy run by former National champion V Chandrasekhar. Over the years, the strong TT culture in Chennai, the presence of idols in the form of former national players from TN and the state government’s support have helped me reach where I am,” Sathiyan told TOI.