Mother’s Day | Thanks is not enough: G. Sathiyan

G. Sathiyan talks about his mother's inclination towards sports pushed him to a successful career in table tennis.

Published : May 10, 2020 18:53 IST

G. Sathiyan with his mother.
G. Sathiyan with his mother.
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G. Sathiyan with his mother.

My mother has always been strong. She was the one in the family who was always inclined towards sports. She was particular that I indulged in some sports activity so that I don’t play video games. I and my elder sister Rekha joined the table tennis academy way back in 1998 when my dad was working abroad. She, too, was working at that time. To take my sister and me to the academy and get us back was no easy job. Once dad came back to India in 2000, things settled down. She has always been a fantastic multitasking lady. The effort she put in in the early days was the reason why I am going strong in the sport.

After I started playing TT relatively well, she was the one who pushed me, telling me that I can make a career out of it. The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune was one of the biggest landmark events. I won the singles gold and mom told me that I have a bright career in the sport. The most important thing was when my father passed away in 2015, I was totally devastated. I didn’t know where to start again.

 

Without her, it would have been impossible to come back. She is the strongest lady I’ve ever seen. She stood beside me, gave me that strength to get back to court. She told me, “Dad always liked you playing TT. This is the biggest tribute you could give him.” She further said, “I’ll take care of everything.” That was the motivation. After that, I became a beast in TT. I was a different Sathiyan from 2016. I started to play as if I have nothing to lose. Full credit to my mom. It’s my dream to have a house and my mom in it. I’ve done that. It’s payback time. Thanks is not enough. An Olympic medal will be the biggest tribute that I will be paying to my mom and dad.

As told to K. Keerthivasan.

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