The Indian table tennis contingent heads to the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia. With its best ever squad and leading the charge is the 25-year-old Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Ranked 49th in the world, the Chennai-based paddler is India’s best bet for not just a podium finish, but a gold in individual and in men’s doubles (with Achanta Sharath Kamal) events.

Historically, Indian paddlers have done well at the CWG since its inception in 2002, claiming a total of 12 medals, but the previous edition at Glasgow proved rather forgettable with the country’s tally reduced to just one medal - a silver in men’s doubles. However, four years on, the Indian table tennis landscape has changed drastically and Sathiyan believes that the current squad has what it takes to deliver the goods.

“We can get up to five or six medals. We all feel we are at our best and we have a wonderful team,” In an interview. “We are very confident and will make this the best Commonwealth Games. Hopes are high.”

For Sathiyan - a Youth Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 2008 - the 2018 CWG will be, surprisingly, his first major multi-sport event. In 2010, he was ranked sixth among the Indians and thus missed out on CWG selection, and in 2014 he had to choose his engineering examinations over the pro tours. Before the 2016 Rio Olympics, he went through one of the toughest phases of his life, when he lost his father.