by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
First stop for Richard McAfee, on duty for the fifth consecutive year in India as a Course Conductor, was Indore where he led an ITTF/PTT Level One Course from Friday 5th to Tuesday 9th May,
“So popular have the ITTF Courses become in India that the course was completely full with 30 participants and there was an additional 24 on a waiting list; this year the apparel sponsors for ITTF Courses in India were Mr. Hiren Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer of InRhythm Sports LLP, and Mr. Neeraj Jain, Director, Cosco India Pvt Ltd.” Richard McAfee
Indore has very much become a major focal point for table tennis in India; notably the city hosted the most recent two editions of the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals.
“The Indore Sports Club is one of India’s finest facilities and it seems to grow every year; this year a brand new cafeteria was available along with some beautiful glass indoor badminton courts. The growth in many respects is due to the hard work of Jayesh Acharya who is the General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Table Tennis Association.” Richard McAfee
Notably the ITTF Coach Education Programme started in India in 2012, following the establishment of an innovative partnership established between the Table Tennis Federation of India, the International Table Tennis Federation and the Tenvic Company.
Tenvic promotes the motto “To Ensure Victory” and was founded by Anil Kumble, Diinesh Kumble and Vasanth Bharadwaj. Anil Kumble was world class cricketer and only the second bowler to take ten wickets in an innings in a Test Match, the other is England’s Jim Laker in 1956, Anil Kumble achieved the feat in 1999. Tenvic, does it not sound like ten wick(ets)?
“Everyone participating in the course would like to also thank Padmashree Abhay Chhajlani, Shri. Sharad Goyal – Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Table Tennis Association, and Mr. Sanjay,- Staff Madhya Pradesh Table Tennis Association, for all the help and support needed to make this course possible.” Richard McAfee
Tenvic aims at making a positive impact on the lives of young people; working diligently behind the scenes for table tennis is Mohan Kumar. He is the Project Manager and he deserves much credit for the success of the ITTF Programme in India.
Additionally, alongside the ITTF/PTT Level One Course; four specially selected candidates were training to become India’s first ITTF/PTT Level One Course Conductors. All four had attended ITTF/PTT Level One, ITTF Level Two and ITTF Level Three Courses under the tutelage of Richard McAfee. All had scored high marks and demonstrated excellent presentation skills.
“Throughout the ITTF/PTT Level One Course the four candidates assisted and taught several sections of the course material. After the course finish all four received two additional days of training and all passed their Course Conductor Exams with flying colours. Arrangements are already under way for each of them to teach their first ITTF Course in the upcoming months.” Richard McAfee
A successful visit and successful in more ways than one; in addition to the four new Course Conductors, all 30 coaches passed the ITTF/PTT Level One examination.
