It was just days after the Rio Olympics. India had an early exit from the competition after fielding its biggest-ever contingent and was scouring for solutions and looking for someone who could turn the narrative of table tennis around. Massimo Costantini, who'd served as head coach for the US team during the Olympics and previously helmed the Indian side between 2009-10, stepped in. "I think he had some kind of a charm. As soon as he took charge, almost instantly our results began to get better," says World No. 40 G Sathiyan, "He just walked in and even before we met, I won my first pro tour title." It was only the second time an Indian player, since Sharath Kamal in 2010, had done so.
Over the next two years, Costantini carefully crafted a makeover - turning sagging interest into thriving popularity, moving the sport into the lexicon of the average Indian sports fan and converting lukewarm followers into zealous worshippers. This was made possible through sparkling results and the medals that came with them. India finished with eight medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and won its first-ever medal at the Asian Games this year. Currently, two Indian men - Sharath and Sathiyan - figure inside the top-50 in the world rankings.
Now that the Italian former No. 39 has chosen to return home for personal reasons and also taken up a role with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Indian table tennis stares at a void.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has a couple of names in mind for the job, but remuneration, the federation fears, might prove to be the roadblock. Heading their priority list is a top Chinese coach but the quoted fee of $15,000 per month may not find favour with the ministry. Plans are also afoot to bring five North Korean coaches along with sparring partners and spread them across the different domestic zones. "We have a few coaches who have expressed interest in the chief coach's job, the top two being a Chinese and a Portuguese apart from a couple of others. Over the next fortnight we will have talks with the Ministry and arrive at a decision," TTFI secretary general MN Singh said.
Former Olympian Neha Aggarwal, who was part of the Indian side coached by Costantini during his first stint, says the primary difference he made was in bringing the team together. "It was one aspect that was always overlooked. Up until he came in, everyone was going their own way, training, going for pro tours but he brought this feeling of oneness in the team. I think this had a positive impact on the men. For the women, his camps made a huge difference since almost no one trains abroad. For all of us, his team meetings, not just at tournaments like the Commonwealth or Asian Games, but also before pro tour matches gave us so much belief. It cleared up our minds and kept us focused."
The other major aspect Costantini had mastered over a very short period of time was navigating his way through the administrative bottlenecks and fetching players the required funding for training and competitions. In a sense, he acted as the bridge between players, administrators and the federation. "Before he came in, that was entirely missing. But he cracked the 'Indian' way of functioning pretty soon. He managed to send us for training stints to Portugal, Dusseldorf, China and got the government to sanction funding for six to seven pro tours, which had never happened before. His planning was impeccable. Each us knew exactly what our training and match schedule looked like for the year and we knew we just had to focus on our performance and he would take care of everything else. I think for whoever comes in next, there's already a strong base to work upon. Now table tennis is in the limelight so it's easier, when he came in we were nowhere," Sathiyan said.
Even though an Asian coach is on top of TTFI's minds now, Sathiyan expresses his reservations over the possible problems of language and methodology that it could pose. "We need someone who can communicate clearly with both us and the government and administrators. It's very crucial to not just be able to ask for funding but also explain why it is necessary."
Sathiyan himself is, starting next year, planning to train four months in Asian nations like Korea, Japan and Hong Kong apart from continuing to turn out in the German league, but an Asian coach, he feels, might be a square peg in a round hole.
"Since most us train and play in European leagues we are familiar with their style of functioning. Asian coaches can be a good choice for the junior level but in your 20s and 30s you don't want your body to be pushed to the brink with grueling mechanical drills and punishing training methods."
With Costantini gone, TTFI now has its hands full. At this delicate juncture when Indian table tennis enjoys both results and attention, the right replacement could take this fairy tale forward or they could end up throwing away this momentum that didn't come easy.