Sathiyan Gnanasekaran clinches bronze medal in TT Men's Singles

The 29-year-old has now won six medals at Commonwealth Games.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran clinched the bronze medal in table tennis men’s singles to make it two medals for India in the singles category at Commonwealth Games 2022. The 29-year-old beat England's Paul Drinkhall 11-9, 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9 to clinch his first-ever singles medal at any CWG event.

This is also Sathiyan's sixth Commonwealth Games medal and third in this 2022 edition. Earlier in the competition, he won the gold medal in the men's team event. Sathiyan and Sharath also bagged silver in the men's doubles.

The Indian paddler started in a dominating fashion and raced to a 3-0 lead. But Drinkhall fought back in the next three sets to level the tie 3-3. The seventh and deciding set was once again a very tight contest with both players giving their absolute everything. Eventually, Sathiyan got the better of the Englishman and won the final set 11-9 to clinch the bronze.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has been one of the most discussed names in India when it comes to Table Tennis. He has achieved excellence in his skills and is one of the best paddlers in the country.

With his bronze medal in men's singles, Sathiyan also equalled his medal tally (3) from the 2018 edition. At both tournaments, he won one gold, silver and bronze medal. Sathiyan played a critical role in helping the table tennis contingent return with multiple medals from Birmingham.

In the men’s doubles, he with Sharath Kamal dominated the opponents with the experience and synergy that they produce together. He was also a contender for gold in men’s singles and won all the matches barring the semifinal encounter. Nonetheless, he returns with a first medal from the men's singles event at Commonwealth Games.

The bronze medal in men's singles is also Sathiyan Gnanasekaran's sixth medal at the Commonwealth Games. He has now won a pair of gold, silver and bronze each in the competition.