'Ranking points don’t matter, beating the best does,' Massimo Constantini's vision for Indian TT
Massimo Constantini emphasizes that defeating world-class players is more important than chasing ranking points.
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“I don’t care about ranking points,” Massimo Constantini tells The Bridge in a freewheeling chat at the sidelines of the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championships in Surat.
The 66-year-old is quite upbeat about what he wants and what he expects of Indian paddlers. Constantini has his eyes set on bigger things and when he says he doesn’t care about it, he quite literally doesn’t.
“Points in world ranking, to me, are not relevant. To me winning against relevant players is more important. Points don’t give confidence but winning against world-class players in the top 10 gives confidence. This is what I am aiming at and not points,” he asserted.
Constantini is now a name synonymous with Indian table tennis. The Italian joined the country’s national set-up in 2009-10 before returning for a two-year stint from 2016-18.
The Indian table tennis teams were then without a designated national coach for six years until May 2024, when Constantini returned for a third spell just before the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Having overseen a best-ever show from Indian paddlers at the Games in Paris, Constantini is just getting warmed up in his latest contract.
“So far things are on track for the goals I set down some time ago,” he said. “Asian and World championships are the main event this year for both seniors and youth.
“So, the pathway is well defined. We have to check in from time to time and this [Nationals] is also a very good opportunity to see them [the players] in action. For them, it is the best platform to showcase their best abilities in terms of technical, tactical, and also mental,” he added.
Progress, potential, and challenges
Over the last year, Indian table tennis has produced some eye-catching results, especially in the women’s section. Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula reached singles pre-quarters at the Olympics, the women’s team made it to quarter-finals at the quadrennial events, and there have also been wins over top-ranked Chinese players from Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee.
All in all, women’s table tennis in India looks on an upward swing. But, Constantini isn’t entirely convinced.
“India, on several occasions, have proved that we can play at the highest level,” the coach reflected. “But those results are sporadic.
“We need to achieve the feeling of consistency. We are there once in a while, winning. We have to change this tendency and through this, the players will become more confident and earn respect from the opponents.
“I don’t want other countries to have the perception that India is good. No, we need more than that in order to be on level terms from a mental point of view. Then the table will give the answers,” he added.
Things have changed quite a bit in table tennis – both the world and in the country– since Constantini was last associated with Indian table tennis.
The ITTF circuit has been scrapped for WTT events, introduced in 2021. The Indian authorities, meanwhile, have been battling to do away with the culture of personal coaches.
“It is difficult to say [the evolution of Indian table tennis],” stated Constantini. “A lot of things happened in between [his second and third stint], majorly the pro system changed from ITTF circuit to WTT events.
“That has created a different balance between all players and countries. For me, it’s something that I still have to learn more,” he noted.
The coach also stresses the need to spend as much time as possible with the players to get the results rolling as quickly as possible.
“These eight months I learned a lot but I am convinced maybe I need to learn more,” he said. “Basically I need to spend more time with the players.
“The strength of the coach is time…the more time spent with the players, the higher chance you have to succeed in the job,” he explained.
Though Constantini, an Olympian from the 1988 Seoul Games, is quite bullish about a few age group players rising through the ranks and India’s chances at the U19 World Championships later this year, he feels the country is still far behind compared to its continental counterparts.
“We are far behind in Asia,” Constantini rued. “We have to analyse this situation as to why we are so behind and so we have to make some corrections. We have to understand where we are missing out in the development part.
“Maybe they [players] developed on their own, maybe they don’t have proper guidance, maybe their focus is much on points,” he lets out a laugh, adding, “and not so much on developing their game and improving or strengthening their abilities.”
Constantini maintains that India is on equal footing with the teams from the United States and Europe but the Asian continent is the real deal.
“We are not that much behind the US, Europe. We are in good standing against them but we compete first in Asia – and we have to deal with them,” he smiled.
A good proactive environment, where stakeholders do not want to just sit back for results, is what Constantini feels would elevate Indian table tennis to greater heights.
He reiterates time and again that there’s no dearth of talent at the moment in the sport for India and all it needs is a good structure, a good training environment, and some good planning to preserve the players and turn them into “something beyond just good players.”
Constantini is, however, quick to note that it will take some more time.
“It is a slow process. The results will not come overnight,” he cautioned.
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