All posts tagged: Costantini

Massimo Costantini, the monkish Italian choosing to coach Indians over running a cocktail bar at his Italian port home-town | Sport-others News

Published by Webster

His thick-rimmed glasses have become his trademark look. He’s fair-skinned, short-statured, and has thinning, curly hair, usually grey or white. We’re not talking about the legendary American director Woody Allen, though you’d be forgiven for mistaking Indian table tennis national coach Massimo Costantini for the director of ‘Match Point’ and other great blockbusters. In a way, Costantini, who hails from a small Italian port city Senigallia, is director-esque too. But rather than stand behind a camera, he prefers to stand behind a table, with a TT paddle in hand. Right now, he’s directing his Season 3 of Indian table tennis, the most crucial season that could change the future of the sport in the country. And he’s doing it with calmness but firmness, friendliness but staunch professionalism. India’s Table Tennis coach Massimo Costantini The globe-trotting 66-year-old has enjoyed a fascinating coaching career which has seen him guide his home country Italy besides UAE, and even the USA. He’s won the ITTF Coach of the Year award and is inducted into the California Table Tennis Hall …

‘I am here for unfinished business’: Indian TT coach Costantini

Published by Webster

Italian Massimo Costantini has been reappointed by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). This is his third stint with India. In Costantini’s first stint, India won a then-record five medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He would come back to help India win an unprecedented two medals at the 2018 Asian Games, ending a 60-year drought. On his decision to return to India ahead of the Paris Olympics, slated for July-August, Costantini said, he has an ‘unfinished business’, he wants to put India at par with traditional powerhouses of table tennis like China, Japan and Korea. ”I am here for unfinished business. I have always seen big potential in India to become a powerhouse in table tennis. And I like to be someone that can contribute to the success,” Costantini was quoted as saying by PTI. “We have done well in the previous two tenures. Time will tell if we can do even better. So even better means to aspire to something big in the Olympics. And that is the biggest motivation,” …

Massimo Costantini set to return as Head Coach for Indian Table Tennis

Published by Webster

India’s elite table tennis players are on the verge of welcoming back a familiar face as head coach, with Italy’s Massimo Costantini likely to return for his third stint with the national team after a six-year hiatus as per PTI. Costantini’s previous tenures with the Indian team came in 2009-2010 and 2016-2018, the latter culminating in India’s historic performance at the 2018 Asian Games where the country secured a table tennis medal for the very first time. The sport’s trajectory saw a sharp rise following the historic Asian Games performance. However, for the past six years, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) had struggled to find a suitable successor to Costantini. Now, as negotiations are underway for a four-year contract with the 65-year-old Italian, known affectionately as ‘Max’ in the table tennis community, it seems he is set for his longest tenure with the national side. A TTFI official revealed to PTI that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is currently in discussions for Costantini’s return, making him the frontrunner among the recommended names …