CHENNAI: India’s table tennis head coach Massimo Costantini has delivered good results in his third stint with the national teams. The Indian women’s team reached the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics and later, both the men’s and women’s sides won bronze medals at the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
With the Italian set to complete his first year of the latest stint, he said that he is working towards strengthening the team environment.
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“Last year, I had a chance to work with the team for the Olympics, and it was quite good. We could not plan for the season because it was already made before I came. But for this year, we have already had a couple of training camps with seniors and youth. Now, I am a little bit more relaxed as I know what is coming up next,” Costantini told TOI on the sidelines of the recent WTT Star Contender here.
Before the Star Contender event in Chennai, the India team had training camps in Bengaluru and Sweden.
“I am planning to have more training camps because that is the key. It is where we can work the whole day together and build certain abilities and confidence. I think this is the right way to work. I mean, the success of the team is to stay and work together, pre-match, during the match, after the match. And this is the way to go forward.”
The performances of Manav Thakkar and Snehit Suravajjula in the Star Contender tournament stood out as they defeated higher-ranked opponents to reach the men’s semifinals and quarterfinals respectively. Those will help them achieve their respective career-high rankings, with Snehit breaking into the top-100.
“Players were ready for this level of competition, and I was expecting a good performance. Snehit is doing very well, and his performance in the pre-quarterfinals proved that he is a top-100 player. This is a great achievement for him and also for India. It makes India stronger and more confident. We can work together and make a difference. We are going in the right direction, and I think we are on the right track,” the 67-year-old Costantini added.
The next test for Costantini will be the all-important World Championships in May.
On being asked what his plans are, he said: “We have to prepare for the World Championships in less than two months and in the longer run, we have the Asian Games and the Olympics. For us, every tournament is a test. It is like an engine. Maybe something is not working well with the brakes, the tyres, and so on. It is a continual adjustment. And that is the job that I am going to do.”
