Jayanta Pushilal, a pillar of Indian table tennis, passes away

Narkeldanga Sadharan Samity, located in an obscure narrow lane in eastern Kolkata, rose to national fame as it became a breeding ground for India's national table tennis players over the decades.

The heart and soul of the facility was Jayanta Pushilal, an Indian coach of international repute.

But on Tuesday, a pensive silence fell over the academy's courts.

Jayanta, a Dronacharya award-winning table tennis coach, passed away at his Narkeldanga residence in Kolkata after a prolonged battle with kidney, liver, and brain ailments.

He was 63 and left behind a vast legacy.

A servant of the game

A dedicated grassroots coach, Pushilal produced as many as 15 national champions across various levels - from cadet to senior - during a coaching career that spanned over four decades.

His prominent trainees included Mouma Das, Arup Basak, Ambika Radhika Suresh, Prapti Sen, Kisoloy Basak, Ranabir Das, Runa Roy and Niloy Basak, among others.

In recognition of his remarkable contribution to Indian table tennis, Pushilal was nominated for the Dronacharya Award in 2023. He received the prestigious award from President Droupadi Murmu in January this year.

"He had been sick since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020. He died of multi organ failure. We thought of a kidney transplant after he received the Dronacharya award but then other health complications like he was unable to breath forced us to cancel the plan," renowned Indian paddler Mouma told The Bridge.

"He also had liver and brain diseases. He was on and off to the hospital. We, the players, felicitated him in June. He used to undergo dialysis thrice a week. He was under so many medications, eventually, his body couldn't take it anymore," added Mouma, who returned to Kolkata after playing for Chennai Lions in Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).

Jayanta, an engineer by profession, took up coaching out of sheer passion for table tennis. He did not have the vast wealth of experience of playing at the international level, but he had an astute eye for the game and possessed mounds of knowledge.

He did his PG Diploma in coaching from the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Thereafter, he joined the Kerala Sports Council and then returned to Kolkata to join the West Bengal Sports Council.

Under his coaching, for the first time ever, the Indian team - comprising Mouma Das, Poulami Ghatak, Mantu Ghosh, Nandita Roy, and Anindita Chakraborty - won the gold medal in the second division at the 2004 World Championships in Doha.

Recalling his influence as a coach, Mouma Das, the most famous of his trainees, said, "I started training under him in 1993 when I was just a 10-year-old kid. He was my only coach. We trained at Narkeldanga Sadharan Samity, and he took special care of me, as he already knew my family—his father was a very close friend of my grandfather."

"Jayanta da never reacted wildly, whether we won or lost. He was a calm and analytical coach, always positive. Even when we lost, he motivated us. He’d remind us that losing meant we had to learn more and work harder," Mouma added.

'Big loss for Indian table tennis'

Arup Basak, one of his first trainees, said Jayanta's passing created a big vacuum in Indian table tennis.

"No words are enough to capture this. It’s a heartbreaking loss for Indian table tennis," said Arup, who held the record for being at the top of the domestic rankings for eight consecutive years as a player.

"The way he elevated table tennis in Bengal is unimaginable now. In his absence, there will be a huge void at the grassroots level. Aside from Mihir Ghosh, he was the only premier grassroots coach who loved training children. They are the real coaches who transform novices into players. While there are coaches who take players to the professional level, the void his passing leaves at the grassroots is a major setback for Bengal and Indian table tennis," Arup stated.

Reflecting on Jayanta's coaching journey, Arup, now a coach and a Dronacharya Award recipient himself, revealed, "Many coaches come to the profession after retiring from their jobs. But Jayanta da began coaching while he was still an engineering student and continued while actively playing. He even went to Germany to enhance his coaching skills. Throughout his life, he constantly worked on upgrading his methods."

Speaking about Jayanta's unique coaching style, Arup added, "He did not train players like a typical coach. He made players feel comfortable and treated table tennis like any other subject of study. Just as students dedicate time to their studies, his philosophy was that players should invest the same amount of time on the table tennis court. That was how we started. He encouraged us to come when we felt comfortable, but once we were at the academy, we had to give seven hours of focused training."

International stints

Jayanta was a reputed coach not only in India but across the world. There was a huge demand for his style of coaching.

He had a two-year coaching stint with Team USA, where he trained top American players like Lily Zhang, who has recently played for Bengaluru Smashers in Ultimate Table Tennis, and Kanak Jha.

Jayanta also worked with the national teams of Maldives and Kazakhstan on his mission to help the sport grow globally.

"Though he was primarily the India team coach, he often travelled to other countries on invitation to help develop table tennis there. His dedication to the sport was unwavering," Arup said, adding that Jayanta was an avid reader as well.

"Jayant da always studied books on table tennis to refine his knowledge. Even in his final days at home, he remained engaged with the sport, often spending time immersed in table tennis on the roof. He will be missed dearly."