Mumbai: Massimo Costantini had one-on-one chats with every member of the Indian contingent at the World Team Table Tennis Championships where both teams were eliminated in the Round of 32.
“I sensed that the players also felt, OK, this is not the way to go at the Asian Games. We have to do something different,” said Costantini. “We have four months, I hope it will be enough time.”
The contract of the Italian, appointed Indian TT’s foreign coach ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, has run its course and is up for renewal. Currently in Italy, the 68-year-old hopes the process is done quickly, “so that I can get back to the job”.
“I take full responsibility for these negative results,” he told HT. “The team needs to grow – as a team and as individuals. I don’t like bad performances, and I know this team can do much better.”
It did better at the same event two years ago, where both teams reached the Round of 16. This time in London with more teams in the fray, India came through the group stage confidently, before the men lost to Austria and the women to USA.
The former, especially, was surprising. The combine of Manav Thakkar (ranked 39), G Sathiyan (42) and Manush Shah (51) were blanked 3-0 by an Austrian unit without a top 100 player. The women, who lost 3-1 to USA, had to rely heavily on Manika Batra after No.1 Sreeja Akula pulled out at the last hour due to illness.
Costantini said the group “needs a leader”, one that he is still searching for after Sharath Kamal’s retirement.
Thakkar has taken over the No.1 mantle in the WTT charts, and Shah and Sathiyan are also in and around the top 50. Rankings, though, are often driven by a standout performance in one tournament through the year. The missing link for Indians to go a level higher, therefore, is “consistent results”.
“For someone like Manav who has reached that position, he has to prove to be in that position. He needs some good results,” said Costantini. “Same for Sreeja and Manika (who were in the top 25 earlier). Since they reached that good ranking, they have had some ups and downs.
“To be in the top 20, you need to consistently reach the quarter-final and semi-final of Contenders and Star Contenders, and maybe Round of 16 in the Smash. As of now, none of the players have done that in the Smash, except Sharath and Manika.
“So, what they need is strong awareness that, OK, I’m 34-35, but maybe my real value is 70. So, I have to work hard and pay attention.”
Costantini’s work is to “find a better balance in the team”. The men’s team, he reckoned, is in transition. As for the women, the top three in the world rankings play with the same style and Costantini hopes someone like Syndrela Das, 16, can step up to the seniors soon.
Selection system
What adds to the complexity of team dynamics is the selection system in India that gives weightage to even domestic performance, apart from international and world rankings.
Costantini cited the example of 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games doubles medallist Ayhika Mukherjee, the India No.4 at 93 in world rankings. A player with a game style that can trouble opponents, she did not make the cut for London “because she didn’t perform well in domestic tournaments”.
“Should we give up some world-class players because they’re not performing well in domestic? This is a point of discussion,” said Costantini.
“It’s very complicated. But we can find the balance in this. Of course, I don’t think there will be any change for the Asian Games. But maybe for the next season, or towards the (2028) Olympics, maybe something to reflect on.”
Also a point of reflection is the time these players spend together as a team, outside of chasing their individual ranking points. Costantini highlighted that he’s had the players in a team environment “just three times in the last two years” across two Asian and this world event.
“Spending more time together, working together, will give added responsibility to each member,” he said.
The 1988 Olympian hopes that the players who make the cut for the Asian Games “spend as much time as possible together”.
In the last Asian Games, Indian TT got a significant medal in doubles. In team events, the men exited in the last eight and the women in the last 16. Going by their London showing, both teams will have to step up considerably to better or even match that outcome.
The silver lining for Costantini is that this “failure” can spur them on.
“Asian Games, they know how important it is,” he said. “I made them aware about the importance of this failure. Paradoxically, I’m happy about having got this big reflection, because now we can have a big bounce back towards the Asian Games.”
