Sathiyan reaches his first-ever WTT Icon Contender quarterfinal

For nearly one and a half years, it has been a tough grind for G. Sathiyan. After soaring to a career-high World No.24 in men’s singles in 2019, the two-time National champion saw his rankings dip. But true to his resilient nature, he kept refining, kept reflecting and working on his game under the guidance of his coach S. Raman. And the WTT Feeder title that he won in August last year was the spark that he needed. Now, as he puts it, “It’s Sathiyan 2.0.” The 33-year-old Indian, seeded 10 and ranked 51 in the world, showcased a controlled yet aggressive brand of table tennis, blending sharp game sense with tactical intelligence to outlast eighth seeded Eduard Ionescu of Romania 9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5 in the third round (round-of-16) of the WTT Star Contender at the TNPESU in Chennai on Saturday (February 14, 2026). With the victory, Sathiyan advanced to his first-ever Star Contender quarterfinal, marking a significant milestone in his comeback journey. “At my age, I think I can’t ask for anything better. This level is what I probably played in 2019. I felt like 25-year-old Sathiyan was back. We tweaked a lot of techniques like working on short games. I could see the progress in the last eight months from winning Feeder titles to main draw in WTT Smash. I would say this is Sathiyan 2.0 kind of version. And I hope this would be even better than what I did in 2019,” said Sathiyan who will take on Czechia’s veteran Lubomir Jancarik in the last eight. The 38-year-old overcame India’s Manush Shah in four games. The lone Indian women in singles, Nithya Mani failed to grab her chances to go down to Cheng I-Ching of Taipei, the fourth seed, in four games. The 17-year-old Peng Yu-Han of Taipei, world ranked 238 and unseeded here, made a quiet entry into the last eight, with an 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7,11-7 win over Elizabeta Samara of Romania. Meanwhile, Oh Junsung, the men’s top seed in singles, suffered an ankle injury while competing in the mixed doubles semifinals and had to be stretchered off. Now, he is out of competition and his quarterfinal opponent Thibault Poret of France will directly enter the semifinals. Singles:Third round: Men: Oh Junsung (Kor) bt S. F. R. Snehit 11-6, 10-12, 15-13, 11-7; G. Sathiyan bt Eduard Ionescu (Rou) 9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5; Park Ganghyeon bt Joe Seyfried (Fra) 11-13, 11-7, 11-13, 12-10, 12-10; Thibault Poret (Fra) bt Feng Yi-Hsin (Tpe) 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9; Flavien Coton (Fra) bt Kazuhiro Yoshimura (Jpn) 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5; Elias Ranefur (Swe) bt John Oyebode (Ita) 11-8, 11-2, 13-11; Lubomir Jancarik (Cze) bt Manush Shah 11-4, 13-11, 5-11, 13-11; Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Ger) bt Wim Verdonschot (Ger) 11-6, 13-11, 14-12. Women: Third round: Cheng I-Ching (Tpe) bt Nithya Mani 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8; Peng Hu-Han (Tpe) bt Elizabeta Samara (Rou) 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7; Sakura Yokoi (Jpn) bt Kim Nayeong (Kor) 11-9, 11-9, 11-8; Andreea Dragoman (Rou) bt Joo Cheonhui (Kor) 11-5, 4-11, 11-8,