India’s highest ranked player in the world, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, has admitted that Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri is the most feared player for the Asian team when the 2018 Commonwealth Games begins in Gold Coast Australia come April.
Gnanasekaran, who is ranked 50th in the February 2018 rating by ITTF, said they have identified Quadri as a stumbling block and they are working hard to neutralize him.
He said: “There are a lot of good players coming to the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. We have players like Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri, England’s duo of Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford as well as Singapore’s Gao Ning and they will certainly be tough competitors. But I must pick out Aruna Quadri because he is one of the biggest threats for the Indian team as he is a great player and has been playing very well in the last few years. But I think we are well prepared and working out strategies to face the strong Nigerian in Gold Coast.”
The 2017 Spanish Open champion who will be making his debut at the Commonwealth Games believes the Indian team has the quality to rule the table tennis event in Australia. Gnanasekaran added: “This will be my first Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and I am really happy to be part of the Indian contingent as it has always been my dream to take part in a big multi-sporting event. I have to give my best in Australia and hoping to win as many medals as possible. I have set a high target of winning three gold medals.”