Italy's Costantini likely to coach Indian paddlers again

New Delhi - The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is likely to bring back Italian Massimo Costantini as the head coach of the national team.

The Italian’s first stint with the Indian team lasted from February 2009 till the Asian Games in November 2010.

TTFI secretary general Dhanraj Choudhary told IANS that Costantini is eager to return to India and the federation will recommend his name to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the nodal agency of the union sports ministry.

The national team has been without a head coach since the London Olympics, in the aftermath of which Poland’s Leszek Kucharski was removed.

“We have spoken to him (Constantini) and he is keen on coming back to India. He enjoyed being here and players too liked him. I also spoke to Sharath (Kamal) on the matter and he was okay with our decision,” said Choudhary, referring to India’s top-ranked paddler.

Choudhary is confident that Costantini’s salary requirements will be met by SAI.

“The salary should not be a problem. Our upper limit is $6,000 and Costantini should be fine with it. He was drawing less earlier.”

Costantini, a former World No.39, has also coached the Italian men’s national team besides the United Arab Emirates.

Following his tenure with Indian team, Costantini joined the Indian Community Center in California, United States.