Indian players must aim to achieve top world rankings: Costantini

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 9

Sitting alone in a corner and sipping hot coffee, India’s table tennis coach Massimo Costantini was on a lookout for fresh talent during the National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championship at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector 3, on Monday.

Costantini said that it is the players’ mentality that matters to him the most.  “There is not much difference between success and failure; it is only the player’s mentality that makes the difference. Instead of aiming for Olympics or Commonwealth Games, a player should focus on breaking into the top-20 or top-10. When you go for such higher aims, winning Olympics or CWG medals becomes a part of the process. The medals, of course, are a big thing in a player’s career but there is always a scope for achieving more.”

Costantini feels that a paddler should always concentrate on specialising their talent rather than focusing too much on their weaknesses. “Why to waste time on learning a thing which you already know you are weak at? I have seen players wasting hours and hours in improving their weaknesses, had they been spending this much time in improving their specialised shots, things could have been different for them,” said Costantini.

The coach from Italy expressed satisfaction with the India’s tournament structure but insisted that the players should also get the taste of victory. “It’s not important to always play good championships and lose in the first or second round. Players should also play semi-professional championships so that they get the taste of victory. Last evening, Snehit defeated top seed A Sharath Kamal, so it’s a learning platform for both of them,” said Costantini.

The Indian team will be touring South Korea and Australia for pro championships where they will get to face both ranked and non-ranked players. 

Coaching clinics must for state coaches 

Costantini said that coaching also needs to improve at the state-level. “Top level coaches need to share their experience with the state-level coaches.  The authorities should organise clinics for state coaches, if not often, at least twice a year, where we can hear each other without any restrictions. Sports is all about sharing experiences and learning from them. This championship was a perfect place to organise such a clinic, but maybe, everyone is busy with their trainees,” said Costantini.

Asian Games a big challenge ahead 

The coach said the Asian Games in Jakarta will be a tough competition.  “Considering the current performance, I can trust on my players to achieve something big. Before the Asian Games, we are playing Platinum Pro Tour events in Korea and Australia, which will be a good platform,” said Costantini.