Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, April 24
As India continue to cherish the success story of its paddlers at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, head coach Massimo Costantini said it was difficult to explain the country’s achievement at the quadrennial event in one simple sentence.
“It is difficult to put it in one simple sentence. It is the result of many, many things,” Costantini said when asked about Indian paddlers’ remarkable show at the Games.
To everyone’s surprise, India won eight medals, including three gold, in table tennis. While Manika Batra won an individual gold after beating Singapore’s Mengyu Yu in the final, she got the better of world No. 4 Tianwei Feng and Yihan Zhou to help India lord over Singapore in the women’s team event.
The Indian men’s team comprising Achanta Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty and Anthony Amalraj blanked Nigeria in the title clash to add another gold to the country’s medal tally. In the semifinals, they had overcome favourites Singapore 3-2.
Unexpected result
“It was an unexpectedly great performance because beating Singapore was like a dream,” Costantini said while recalling Indian women’s 3-1 triumph over a formidable Singapore side.
“Singapore is a team that in 2010 won the world title after beating China. So beating Singapore is like beating China. It was amazing. The way we won the match was unbelievably great,” he added.
The Italian credited the success to the entire team and also mentioned that employing different combinations to surprise the opponents worked well for the side.
“Winning the medal was not only because Manika won two matches, which was unbelievably great, but also the pair of Madhurika and Mouma, that was an uncommon pair… they beat these two Chinese (origin) girls. That was the most unexpected win. Everything worked perfectly, everything worked in our favour,” he added.
“It is difficult to explain in one sentence how we won, but the thing is that we did it,” he reiterated.
Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das beat Yihan Zhou and Mengyu Yu 11-7 11-6 8-11 11-7 before Manika tamed Zhou 11-7 11-4 11-7 to help India register a 3-1 win over Singapore.
Earlier, Manika, after trailing Tianwei 1-2, came back strongly to put India 1-0 ahead in the tie but Madhurika succumbed to Yu.
Asked about the amount of work that was done in the build-up to the Games, the Italian replied: “A lot of work has been done behind (the curtains), but once you reach the final you have to try to take out most from the players… and whatever work you have done before, you have to try to put that into practice.”
Magnificent Manika
On Manika’s success at the Games, the coach said she was a more confident player now and made the best use of the competition at Gold Coast.
“The last couple of months we have spent together — the training camp and the three pro tours in Qatar, Holland and Germany… And something happened, something clicked for her… she was more serious, had more variations, had more confidence, and the matches she won were the matches she was actually behind. She recovered well. She came back from a very, very tough situation. She did well and she made the best use of the competition.”
Manika overcame Tianwei Feng 4-3 after trailing the Singaporean 2-3 at one stage to make it to the singles final before registering a convincing 4-0 win over Yu to claim the gold. She also won a mixed doubles bronze along with Sathiyan and a doubles silver in the company of Mouma to return as the most decorated Indian athlete.
Challenges ahead
With expectations soaring, the Indian paddlers will have their task cut out at the Asian Games in Jakarta. However, the head coach believed they should only focus on giving their 100 percent and not worry about the results.
“It is very difficult to perform in the Asian Games. We will go to the Games with the same humbleness and will try to play our best, and if some results come we will be very happy,” Costantini said when asked about India’s chances at the Jakarta Games.
