Just about a month ago, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, ranked 32nd in the world, felt his 2020 season was ending. It had been seven months since he last played competitively, and despite tournaments starting up in Europe in the past few months, he had not been able to travel. He had signed up with Sokolow SA Jaroslaw, a team in the Polish Table Tennis League, in July but with work visas hard to come by, he had struggled.
"Whenever we had travelled for tournaments in the past, as sportspersons we only needed a regular tourist visa. I had that but that wasn't enough for me to travel to Poland because of the current situation. Because of this, I'd already missed a few matches with my team in September. I was almost certain that the rest of 2020 would be a washout," he says.
Things turned around over the last week though. "My club as well as the Poland table tennis federation had to approach their government that I had a genuine case and I finally got the clearance a few days back. It was only after that that I could book a flight because no airline wanted to take the risk of me travelling to Poland and not being able to clear immigration," he says.
On Monday afternoon, Sathiyan got himself tested for COVID-19. If all is okay, he will fly out this Thursday. He has four matches lined up next week - competition he is looking forward to. The Polish league, he points out, is one of the strongest leagues in the world with many players in the top 50 in the world. "It's as good as the German league. Some of the best players in Europe will be competing there. They also have several top players from South Korea and Japan. I'm not sure if they will come but the competition will be strong," he says.
That is exactly what he needs. Sathiyan spent the first couple of months of India's nationwide lockdown at his home and only returned to training at his academy following that. "I've used the time well. I've worked on a new serve and also changed my racquet to one that isn't as powerful but also imparts more spin to the ball. I've also worked hard on my physical fitness. I'm moving well and feeling fresh But unless I take part in an actual competition, I won't know where I stand," he says.
The extended layoff means he isn't expecting much by way of results right away. "I know that I will be rusty. I'm not expecting to win much. When you return to the competition mode after a long break, there is a loss of rhythm. The pressure of playing a match hits you heavily. When you practise, you feel you have time to settle down, but in a match things happen really fast. That tension isn't something that can be replicated easily," he says.
Just getting four games of match practice might not seem like much but Sathiyan is looking to get as much of an advantage before the international season does resume in earnest at some point next year. He has still not qualified for the Olympics after a disappointing result at the team world championships in January this year, and will be taking another shot at it at the Asian qualifiers next year. "I'm not very worried about qualification. I still think I have a very good chance of it but I need to do everything I can to make sure I'm in the best shape leading up to that tournament," he says.
He hopes Poland is just the first step to salvaging 2020.
In February, he had become the first Indian to be signed to play in the highly rated Japan Table tennis league, but he hopes the same visa issues that held up his travel to Poland doesn't hold him back here too. "I still need the Japanese authorities to clear my participation. Hopefully by the time I get back from Poland, I'll have all the paperwork I need and will be able to compete there as well," he says.