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Mohali, Punjab has never been very competitive in table tennis at the national level, but that will change in the next five years if things go as Bhawani Mukherji has planned.
Mukherji, who has been the India team coach for the last 20 years, has been hired as a senior coach by the Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS). The Dronacharya Award-winning coach has set a five-year target for himself and Punjab.
“The standard of table tennis in Punjab has never been very good. But we have set up a new table tennis centre here, and I have set myself a target of five years. I want to make Punjab competitive at the national level and then we could think of producing international players,” said Mukherji on the sidelines of the table tennis event of the Bhagat Singh Punjab Games at the Sector 78 stadium, Mohali.
PIS and the Sports Department have started a new table tennis wing at the Sector 78 stadium. In fact, it is the first ever government-run centre in the state. Till now, there were only a few day-scholar seats in Patiala under the Sports Department. There are only three table tennis coaches — all of them ad-hoc — under the Sports Department in the state. The sport was running in the state because of private centres.
“This is a good step, one which was needed for a long time,” added Mukherji, who retired from SAI in 2012. He worked at NIS Patiala for 28 years.
Mukherji joined in October but said that the centre was properly set up only in January, when the new tables arrived. “Till then we had only a couple of tables. But now we have 15 tables,” he said. Currently, over 40 kids train at the centre. For the last 2-3 years, these children have been training under Sudarshan Mesare, also a PIS coach. “Three years ago, when I joined as a coach in GMADA, I introduced most of these children to table tennis,” said Mesare, who shifted to PIS last year.
Out of these trainees, around 15 boys and girls have been selected for the academy. Those who don’t make the cut will be charged a nominal fee to train at the centre.
“Currently, we only have day-scholars in the academy but from March we will also have residential trainees. We have selected 10-15 local kids. We also conducted trials for children from all across the state in January. We have short-listed a few and we will have the final trials on March 12-13,” Mukherji said. “At this point I want 25-30 trainees between the ages nine and 14 in the wing. With time we can think about expanding.”
“Also, we didn’t get many children from across Punjab because their private coaches don’t want to lose them. With time, everyone will understand the importance of this academy. Our centre has got good publicity because of the Punjab Games.”
Working at grassroots
Mukherji was hired in September but could join only in October as he was busy with the Indian team. After the Punjab Games, he will leave for the national camp in Patiala. India is participating in the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur from February 28 to March 6.
How will he divide his time between the Indian squad and the academy? “My contract runs till the Olympics qualifiers, and if India qualify, till the Olympics. After that I will be completely free for the academy,” he said.
For Mukherji, the shift from the national team to the grassroots level is a huge one. “After working with the junior and senior national teams for over two decades, I am returning to the grassroots level. But this has its own charm, and its own importance,” he said. “Right now, there is a vacuum at the senior level. We have to start concentrating on the grassroots level in India.”
Mukherji is highly confident about making a difference in Punjab. “We are starting with the very young. Some of the kids have huge potential. I am confident that in the next 5-10 years, we can improve Punjab’s status at the national level,” he declared.
