Paddlers G Sathidyan and Ankita Das have found this 'understanding' going their way when they won the mixed doubles title in the Commonwealth Table Tennis (CWTT) Championships on Sunday when they defeated seasoned pair of Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das.
It is very important to understand a partner before deciding to continue with him/her. Having faith in one another and the belief to go the distance as a team is the key to success in paired events in sports. Tennis legend Leander Paes will vouch for this 'understanding' between partners.
Paddlers G Sathiyanand Ankita Das have found this 'understanding' going their way when they won the mixed doubles title in the Commonwealth Table Tennis (CWTT) Championships on Sunday when they defeated seasoned pair of Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das.
"You can't win if the two are looking in different directions. Understanding one another is utmost important. There's no place for blame game in our room. You lose together, you win together," said Das, who was part of the Indian Olympic contingent in 2012 London.
Interestingly, this was the first time Sathiyan and Das paired together. What is more surprising is that they decided to play together at the preparatory camp for the CWTT at SAI Gandhinagar 15 days prior to the tournament.
It wasn't difficult for them to understand each other's game. Both are the prodigies of S Raman, former national champion. "Ankita has been coaching with Raman sir, who has shaped her career. Gradually, I realised that there were quite a few similarities between us. What counted for me was her good understanding of the game," said Sathiyan, who has been training under Raman for the last couple of years.
Being first timers, the Sathiyan-Das duo caught their rivals off guard. Nobody was aware of their strategies.
"Sanil (Shetty) and Manika (Batra) have been playing together for a few years. So are Soumyajit (Ghosh) and Mouma (Das). We knew about their playing patterns and strategies, having played with them for the past five years. But we were a new pair and they weren't aware of us. Above all, we wanted to enjoy out there," said Sathiyan.
Sathiyan said he asked Ankita to be aggressive without fearing about the points. "We wanted to catch our rivals off guard," said Sathiyan.
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