G. Sathiyan-Manika Batra focused on a Paris 2024 medal, says coach S. Raman

G.Sathiyan and Manika Batra have raised expectations of a podium finish at Paris 2024 by becoming the first-ever pair from India to break into the world top 15 rankings in mixed doubles category.

The Indian pair were triumphant at the WTT Contenders in Budapest earlier this year and also reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contenders in Tunis.

And Sathiyan's personal coach, Subramaniam Raman, believes that it is the rise of a new dawn for Indian table tennis as the mixed doubles pair can go on to create history at Paris 2024.

"I strongly believe that Paris 2024 can be a sure shot for a medal. The only thing is that we need to help ourselves by getting into the top 4-5 in the world which will mean that we have a good chance of getting a good draw," Raman told Olympics.com.

"From top-15 to top-6 or 7 in the next two and half years is not a big deal. It is a big deal but definitely it's a possible big deal," he added.

Raman has, thus, charted out a plan in place that will help Sathiyan and Batra break into the top five world rankings by Paris 2024.

The Dronacharya awardee believes that it will be extremely crucial for the duo to keep an open communication and participate in as many tournaments as possible in a calendar year besides working on the technical aspects of the game.

"The number of tournaments that they play is very critical and they are young so they can give themselves a chance to play more. So, the more you play and get good performances throughout a calendar year, it will help them better their world rankings. It's important that they communicate and pick tournaments which both can play," India's first-ever Commonwealth Championships gold medallist said.

"There are also a lot of technical areas where Sathiyan and Manika need to improve. We are trying to generate some data available from the matches they have played and their tactical play to combine differently in order to take home advantage will be crucial," he added.

Moreover, Raman, also considers himself fortunate to work on a plan for the stellar duo as they want to improve themselves continuously. He is, meanwhile, working to execute a joint-training program for Sathiyan and Manika during the long Christmas break at his academy -- Raman TT High Performance Center -- in Chennai.

The Arjuna awardee feels that Sathiyan and Manika are strong individual doubles players and thus their combination has worked out well. It is also the fact the duo know each other's game since their junior days which has helped them combine well together.

"Sathiyan communicates well while Manika, probably, speaks well and communicates whatever is required. So, they have a very good understanding on the table and off the table too," Raman said.

However, with an elusive Olympics medal in Paris on their agenda, Raman is confident that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games in 2022 will be a highly profitable for the history-making Indian pair.