Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is a famous Indian table tennis player. In 2019, he became the first Indian TT player to enter the top 25 of the ITTF world rankings, ranking 24th in the world.
Wiki/Biography
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was born on Sunday, January 8, 1993 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (age 29; as of 2022). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He completed his school education from Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav High School, Tamil Nadu. Later, he pursued his bachelor’s degree in information technology from St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Chennai. According to Shatyam, he participated in table tennis training at school as a hobby. Gradually, he started participating in inter-school competitions. Former Indian table tennis player and Arjuna Award winner Subramanian Raman noticed Sathiyan’s skills during one such match. Raman later encouraged Satyam to take up table tennis while pursuing an engineering degree.
Sathiya Gnanasekaran and his coach Subramanian Raman
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran’s father died of cancer in 2015.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and his father
His mother’s name is Malarkodi Gnanasekaran.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and his mother
He has two sisters named Divya and Rekha Gnanasekaran. They are all married.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and his sisters
wife
He is not married yet.
Profession
pingpong
While studying engineering, he started practicing table tennis under the guidance of Subramanian Raman. He began competing in junior state and national competitions. In 2011, he made his international debut at the World Youth Championship and won a bronze medal for India. Since then, he encountered many difficulties in the process of transferring from the youth group to the adult group, and did not achieve a breakthrough point in the adult group championship. Subsequently, he was advised to go to Germany for professional training. In 2017, he won the TT singles gold medal at the ITTF Challenge held in Belgium. In the same year, he participated in the Swedish ITTF Men’s Doubles and won a bronze medal. He then won a silver medal at the ITTF Challenge in Bulgaria.
Sathiya Gnanasekaran Comparison between the early TT period and now
In the same year, he participated in the ITTF Challenge held in Spain and won his second consecutive gold medal in the singles competition. By winning this event, he became the first Indian table tennis player to win two professional tour titles. In 2018, he participated in the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, and won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the men’s team, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles respectively. In the same year, he participated in the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, winning the men’s doubles championship and a bronze medal. According to reports, the men’s team won a medal again after a gap of six decades in Indian history. In 2019, he participated in the Asian TT Championship and reached the men’s singles quarter-finals. At this point, he became the first Indian table tennis player in 43 years to enter the men’s singles quarterfinals of this tournament. In 2020, he participated in the men’s doubles competition of the ITTF World Tour in Hungary with his partner Ashanta Sharat Kamal and won a silver medal.
Sathiya Gnanasekaran and Achanta Sharath Kamal after winning the ITTF Major in Hungary
This paves the way for his 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2020, Hong Kong player Lam Siu-heng defeated him in the second round of the Tokyo Olympics.
Government officials
After winning several medals and accolades for India, he was appointed by the Government of India as Senior Director, Human Resources Department, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
medal
gold
2016: ITTF World Tour Belgian Open (Men’s Singles) held in Belgium
2017: ITTF Challenge Spanish Open (Men’s Singles) held in Spain
2018: Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia (men’s team)
silver
2017: Bulgaria Seahorse Azare Open (Men’s Doubles)
2018: 2018 Commonwealth Games (Men’s Doubles), Gold Coast, Australia
2020: ITTF World Tour Hungary Open (Men’s Doubles) in Budapest
bronze
2018: Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia (Mixed Doubles), Asian Games, Jakarta, Indonesia (Men’s Team)
2019: Haima ITTF World Tour Platinum, Geelong Australian Open (men’s doubles), Muscat Haima ITTF Challenge plus Oman Open (men’s singles)
Awards, Honors, Achievements
In 2017, he won the TOISA Table Tennis Player of the Year Award (Jury Selection) and in 2018, he received the Arjuna Award from the Government of India.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran received the Arjuna Award in 2018
Facts/Trivia
- In his spare time, he likes to watch movies, listen to music, travel to distant places, and make friends.
- In 2020, Sathiyan reportedly imported a table tennis robot from Germany to practice table tennis at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, as he wanted to stay sharp while competing in upcoming tournaments at home. Amid the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, he converted the roof of his home into a gym and began personal training with the help of a local player who assisted him in training. He imported a table similar to the one used at the Olympics.
The practice room at Sathiya Gnanasekaran’s home
- Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is associated with the GoSports Foundation along with a team of 19 athletes. The organization works under the leadership of former cricketer Rahul Dravid and his athlete mentorship programme.
- He remains very active on various social media platforms. On Instagram, he has more than 27,000 followers. His Facebook page is followed by more than 54,000 people. He frequently posts photos and videos of himself on social media. His Twitter account has more than 10,000 followers.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education