Coach Massimo takes blame for ITTF World Team C'ships flop show; targets hard reset before Asian Games

The Indian table tennis teams had a forgettable outing at the 2026 ITTF World Championships, losing in the first round of knockouts last week.

While the women’s team went down to the United States 1-3, the men were blanked 0-3 by a lower-ranked Austria, who have no paddlers ranked in top-100 of the men’s singles world rankings.

Manush Shah in the first match of the tie against Robert Gardos was the only one to put up a fight in the contest, losing a hard-fought battle in the decider. Manav Thakkar, the highest-ranked Indian, and veteran Sathiyan Gnansekaran were both swept 3-0 by Daniel Habesohn and Andreas Levenko, respectively.

"The result was really not ideal," national coach Massimo Costantini told The Bridge days after the team’s exit.

"We knew we had a good chance, but unfortunately, we didn’t perform well," he added.

The Indian trio looked completely out of sorts in the contest, struggling to cope with the attacking game the Austrians employed. They were, more often than not, caught in awkward positions on the table as the opponents landed precise shots one after the other to draw out unforced errors.

A team in transition & Sreeja’s absence

The tournament also marked the first ITTF World Team Championships for India after the retirement of long-time captain Achanta Sharath Kamal, who bid adieu to the sport last year.

"Sharath has been a vital part of the team for 20 years. He has been the captain for a long time," said Costantini.

"From that perspective, the team is also undergoing a transition. It started with the Asian C’ships last year, and it will take some time for the team to settle in," he added.

As for the women’s team's exit, the coach pointed out that the absence of Sreeja Akula proved crucial.

"Sreeja Akula couldn’t come, unfortunately, and it affected the team adversely," said Costantini.

"Yashaswini Ghorpade did a good job and won important points in the group stage against Ukraine, who eventually reached the quarter-finals, but Sreeja’s absence was a big gap," he added.

"Expectations not met"

Both the Indian teams started their campaign in Stage 1B at the Copper Box Arena in London, topping their respective groups with three consecutive victories.

They then had a five-day gap after their final group battle and the Round of 32 knockout tie as the top teams sweat it out on Stage 1A.

The knockouts were held at the Ovo Arena in Wembley, around 50-minutes away from where the earlier rounds were held.

"The gap and different venue weren’t ideal, but it can’t be an excuse," Costantini said. "It was the same for all the teams, who started their campaign in Stage 1B."

Following the exit, Costantini revealed having a one-on-one discussion with all the players in the team.

"Despite having a good practice camp in Bengaluru and then in London before the tournament, the expectations were not met," he said.

"The result and the lack of performance is on me. The players have shown good commitment to what I’ve asked of them.

"We had an open discussion with all the players and support staff. It is always good to have such a discussion, and the major talking point was that something like this should not happen in the Asian Games," he added.

"Be humble and don’t over train"

With the 2026 Asian Games now just over four months away, it is imperative that the paddlers don’t get bogged down by the results at the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships.

"We spoke about taking it as a good motivation to hard reset ahead of the Asian Games and be a bit more humble," said Costantini. “We know that we are not ready for the Asian Games.

"We need to work on making the team more solid, understanding each other and improving the chemistry between the group," he added.

The major pain point, as per Costantini, will be to get the players out of their individualistic mindset and help cultivate a team-first attitude.

"Table Tennis is an individual sport, and naturally, the players are very much individualistic in their thinking," the coach said.

"The world rankings are extremely important for them, and they go all out competing in tournaments constantly to stay afloat. Sometimes they do more than required. Train more than what the schedule demands, and it is on me to get them out of that process.

"There’s a lot of work to do to help them understand that we can do well as a team. If I can keep them in the same mindset as they are in while they compete individually in a team environment, then the results will follow," he added.