Table Tennis stars Manika Batra, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran help fans learn tricks on Twitter

While the nationwide coronavirus lockdown has moved sports enthusiasts and newbies indoors, halting their regular practice sessions, they have managed to turn the tables on these limitations and are finding new ways to carry on.

With no access to the outdoors, people are reinventing how they play sports with the resources available to them at home, and to that end, have got their creative juices flowing. 

Adding to the momentum, Indian table tennis players Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran joined the conversation on Twitter and shared interesting tips and tricks with their fans.

When training with one hand is just not good enough
Hitting some balls alongwith my best friend at home @BUTTERFLY_JAPAN Amicus Prime  Robot !!#sathiyan #tabletennis #sports #fridayfeeling #lockdown https://t.co/5p7ixnJTIj pic.twitter.com/vHoK0iL6Uo — Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020

Commenting on the same, Indian star paddler Manika said, “It feels great to engage with people during this lockdown. Twitter is a great place to have conversations and I am glad that we are able to spread and create awareness about staying fit while at home through the service. I hope this will motivate fans to stay positive and active during these difficult times.”

Both the players also interacted with fans through Question and Answers session on their respective official Twitter handles. While Manika shared her quarantine routine, her favourite Bollywood actors and gave an encouraging message for young players, Sathiyan answered questions on players he follows, his favourite childhood cartoon and revealed that he would love to have a match with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.

An age is good to start playing but if we talk about childrens to be a champion then 3 and half or 4 is the good age to hold a racquet in your hand. https://t.co/8U4LJ7YidE — Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020

 

I have tried my hand on gardening , ventured into Yoga and probably looking to learn some new language (may be little bit of Japanese) to prepare myself for Olympics https://t.co/befWxdUCe0 — Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020

 

Working on physical fitness, meditation, watching TV series. Also helping people directly and indirectly.. https://t.co/YJhuetPujG — Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020

 

It’s @rogerfederer 
Practice session with @BUTTERFLY_JAPAN Amicus Prime Robot is going great and playing a lot of specific skills.
Thank you . https://t.co/nhVQ8InW2r — Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020

 

My favorite actors are Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal https://t.co/cTXAqWbHGL — Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) May 15, 2020

 

Haha that’s one thing which I have not yet tried out as I do care a lot about my mom’s health https://t.co/gEemlpp5SX — Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020

 

Haha I am not that great at playing Cricket and don’t want to embarrass myself, I would definitely love to play a game of TT with @sachin_rt sir and teach him some skills !!

I would also be very keen to know on how he developed the liking for TT https://t.co/URuIcQoBPE — Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) May 15, 2020

Recently, the Pandya brothers too challenged each other for a game of at-home table tennis.

#PandyaBros in action in a different sport  @hardikpandya7 and I are always competitive with each other Who do you think won this round? pic.twitter.com/4jjlatV15P — Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) April 23, 2020

Earlier this month, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) had further extended the suspension of all its events and activities until the end of July, while hoping for a restart of action in August.

In April, the world table tennis governing body had cancelled the Australian Open and the South Korean Open. The Australian Open was scheduled to take place from June 23 to 28, while the South Korean Open was slated to be held from June 16 and 21.

The ITTF Executive Committee will next meet on June 2 and then provide further updates on all upcoming decisions in view of the coronavirus pandemic.