Tue, Oct 12 10 12:23 PM
Diganta Biswas New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Satisfied with Indian paddlers'' show in the team events in the Commonwealth Games, country''s foreign coach for table tennis, Massimo Constantini wants to continue with the job to help them do well in the 2012 London Olympics. India''s hope for gold in the team event went up in smoke after defending champions men''s team lost the semifinal to England, and even their women counterparts went down to world champions Singapore in the summit stage. "I am happy with the improvement the paddlers have showed in the recent times. I took up the responsibility as the coach in February, 2009 and now want to finish my job in 2012 London Olympics," said Constantini, who succeeded Belorussian Aleksey Yefremov last year. "It is up to the government whether I could continue with this job. But yes, I wish to stay with the paddlers to finish my job. We have improved a lot and I think, the government now should not stop supporting the players once the Commonwealth Games is over. "It takes time to improve the performance of the players and bring about consistency. We don''t have any magic wand. The process is on and we should not disrupt the rhythm at this point of time," the Italian added. Asked about their preparation for the next month''s Asian Games in China, Constatini said that the strategy would be set only after the paddlers, who have been busy with their CWG training schedule since two years, get some rest. "Asian Games will be a tough event. But before we think about it, the players must be given some rest. They have been working very hard since a long time now," he said. "And also, before the Asian Games, we have to see who else can play in the event. The other players, if they are performing well, could also be considered. But there will be tough competition because countries like China and Korea will be playing. "Now the individual events are on, let it get over. Then we will think about the next event. It will be a different format there in Asian Games, so the strategy will also not be the same," he added. Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou from November 12-27. The former world number 39 was also all praise for Sharath Kamal, but did not forget to remind it was also important for the country to nurture more talents to create a quality pool of paddlers. "It is not easy to perform in pressure. Sharath is OK, he is playing well. But it is also important to find many more talents and nurture them, by giving exposure," he said. "We have to take the lessons and I think, India should think about the future. However, many young players are coming up now-a-days and that is a positive sign for the country," Constantini added.
Source: Published>
0 comments:
Post a Comment