India’s impressive performance in table tennis over the past year has made even the sport’s traditional powerhouses wary of facing them in the early rounds. Indian team coach Massimo Costantini, an experienced Italian tactician, is confident that his players can deliver some surprises in both team and individual events at the upcoming Paris Olympics, scheduled from July 26 to August 11.
For the first time in Olympic history, India has qualified for both the men’s and women’s team events. Costantini, now in his third tenure with the Indian national team, has been instrumental in this achievement. The 66-year-old coach, who first came to India in 2009, has witnessed the significant rise of Indian table tennis. Under his guidance, India won a record eight medals, including three golds, at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and secured two bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games.
“Qualifying for the team events is already an achievement because just 16 teams from across the world get to represent at the Olympics. It is difficult to say whether we will win a medal but I can definitely say that we can come up with a big surprise. There have been enough signals in the past six months that even teams like China are worried about playing against India early in the competition,” Costantini said in an interview with Ultimate Table Tennis.
Earlier this year, the Indian women’s team nearly defeated China at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, with Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula upsetting the World No. 1 and World No. 2 players respectively in a narrow 2-3 loss. Sreeja went on to become the first Indian singles player to win a WTT Contender title in Lagos, and players like Manika Batra and veteran Achanta Sharath have also found strong form.
Costantini, whose second tenure saw India secure two Asian Games medals in 2018, has built an excellent rapport with the Indian squad and closely followed their development over the years. The Italian, who competed in the 1988 Olympics, credits the advent of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) as a game-changer.
“UTT has provided Indian players an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience. The combination of having international coaches working with Indian coaches along with youth development programs has ensured that Indian players are ready to take on the best in the world,” he explained.
Discussing preparations for the Paris Olympics, Costantini mentioned he is currently evaluating the players’ performance levels and determining the best doubles combinations for the team championships, as the Indian team participates in several WTT events worldwide. “Our aim is also to come up with good results in these events so that we can improve our rankings so that we can avoid playing the top four countries before the quarter-final stage as the rankings will get updated before the Games and will determine the draw,” he added. Currently, the Indian men’s team is ranked 14th globally, while the women’s team is ranked 11th.
Costantini also noted that knowing their opponents well in advance would aid in better preparation. “The gap between us and the top teams is not that big. Since we will know our opponents in advance and we have the data and research about all these teams, we will have time to prepare well and tactically work on bridging that small gap.”
Indian table tennis fans hope their team can not only close this gap but also make history in Paris. Following the Olympics, fans can look forward to more thrilling table tennis action at the upcoming Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, scheduled to be held in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.
