NEW DELHI: India’a highest-ranked paddler G Sathiyan has a choc-a-bloc schedule in the months to come, starting with the Asian Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from September 15.
The World No 30 has elaborate plans with regards to his training before the World Cup in November as well as planning ahead for the Olympic qualifiers in January.
However, a roadblock has appeared. The Chennai player had planned to train in Japan and South Korea, both in December as well as February for a period of two weeks. The catch is that to get the federations there to approve of the same, the Table Tennis Federation of India needs to contact them after which the entire process can get accelerated.
“I have spoken to TTFI about this. But it has not happened yet. I’m hopeful a resolution can be reached soon,” Sathiyan said.
His personal coach S Raman added that both countries have shown interest in his ward but TTFI needs to get it sorted. “It is a huge deal. The kind of sparring he will receive there will be of big help. I’m hoping for the best.”
Raman will be with Sathiyan for both the Swedish Open next month as well as the World Cup in November. They have planned to bring Yaohuan Shen to the academy in Chennai from November 18-27. “He has been used as a sparring partner by the likes of Indonesia and Chinese Taipei. It will be good for him but the main aim is to minimise such programmes in favour of training in top quality Asian countries,” Raman added.
Indians left their camp in China and will reach Indonesia on Saturday for the continental tournament.