Stuck at home for seven months and more with no training to speak of could have been demoralising for any sportsperson.

Not so for table tennis star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who, after an initial setback in the early months, decided to take life by the collar. While keeping himself fit via online yoga and training, he turned to an automated robot, the Butterfly Amicus Prime, to help keep his skills sharp in the absence of a regular training partner.

Restrictions eased, the paddler first took part in the Polish Liga last month following which he underwent two weeks of mandatory home quarantine (which gets over on Thursday) and is now gearing up for a stint in the Japanese league. His plate full, Sathiyan sure isn’t complaining.

“To be able to travel and play some matches after such a long time was a wonderful feeling,” Sathiyan told The Telegraph. “The icing on the cake was, playing for Sokolów SA Jaroslaw, I won all my matches when I certainly was rusty.

“Doubly glad that I complete my quarantine before Diwali,” he grinned, “Then I start to play normally again.”

“Normal” for Sathiyan is five hours of training daily and an hour each of yoga and fitness.

The 27-year-old is set to leave for Japan on November 23 where he will be playing for Okayama Rivets.

“Japan will be much tougher than Poland because I’ll be competing against players who will be favourites at the Olympics.”

Ranked No. 32 in the world, Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal are set to make the cut for the Olympics and the former believes his stint in the Japanese league will be his best preparation for Tokyo.

“I am badly missing the Ultimate Table Tennis this year, which is better than any of the foreign leagues I’ve played in so far. I’ve played for Dabang Delhi for the last three years which prepared me well to handle pressure,” he said.

How did the Arjuna awardee handle the mental challenge during lockdown?

“It was a new challenge, like going to a match where you do not know who your opponent is, like being caught unawares. That was how it was in the early days. Then I started working with my robot (which can generate speeds and spin on the ball whereby my receiving ability has vastly improved), doing online yoga and training and I can proudly say I am now mentally much stronger than I was pre-lockdown. You can say this experience helped me know myself better.

“In Gdansk, living in a bio-secure bubble, I got a taste of the ‘new normal’. Initially I had thought playing without spectators wouldn’t make much of a difference, but it did.

“The entire journey, March onwards, has been a big eye-opener. I, like everyone else, was beset with doubts… Didn’t think on return I would be able to perform at the level at which I, thankfully, did. So yes, we have to fight through this tough period and we will definitely come out trumps,” concludes Sathiyan.