01 Sep 2017

Situated in the west of the country, known for its splendid picturesque location and steeped in history, being where Mahatma Gandhi, known often as the Father of the Nation, spent his early years of education; Rajkot was the home for a recent ITTF/PTT Level One Course.

The itinerary commenced on Wednesday 16th August and concluded on Sunday 20th August 2017; the course conductor was Brijesh Acharya.

by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Organised under the auspices of the ITTF Development Programme with the support of the Table Tennis Federation of India and Tenvic Sports, an organisation which promotes sport at grass roots level, proceedings were organised locally by the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association.

Ten coaches, many with backgrounds in physical education, attended.

Matters commenced with an Opening Ceremony which local officials attended; they expressed their gratitude to the Table Tennis Federation of India as well as to the International Table Tennis Federation and Brijesh Acharya.

“I would like to thank Mr. Richard McAfee, who helped me during all my four courses with him. It was under his leadership I was able to build my teaching skills; his presence in the training hall boosted my confidence to go that extra mile to achieve what I am today, an ITTF/PTT Level One Coach from India.” Brijesh Acharya

Undoubtedly such courses not only afford the opportunity to introduce more people to the sport of table tennis but also enable sound techniques to be established from standards can rise.

It is a fact of which Dhanraj Choudhary, Secretary-General of the Table Tennis Federation, agreed

“It is part of the on-going efforts of the Table Tennis Federation of India to bring in professionalism and structure in the way the sport of table tennis is organised in India. The strategic partnership with Tenvic will ensure that we continue to run this programme at periodic intervals in India and take table tennis coaching in India to the next level.” Dhanraj Choudhary

Undoubtedly, working alongside Tenvic has proved a major success; the level of co-operation with Vasanth Bharadwaj, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tenvic, now being well established.

“We are very happy to be associated with the Table Tennis Federation of India and co-hosting this first-ever ITTF certification programme conducted by Indian course conductors. Tenvic is committed to transforming grassroots sport in India and an important piece of this journey is developing an ecosystem of highly trained and professional coaches, which this programme will ensure.” Vasanth Bharadwaj

Support from Vasanth Bharadwaj and approval from Glenn Tepper, the ITTF Deputy Chief Executive Officer, whose efforts in masterminding the ITTF Development Programme, have set a standard for all other sports.

“Our long term goal of activating Indian ITTF Course Conductors is finally being realised thanks to the great efforts of the Table Tennis Federation of India, Tenvic, Richard McAfee and the course conductors themselves. Congratulations to Mr Brijesh and good luck to Mr Vismay for upcoming training programme in Vadodara from Wednesday 6th to Sunday 10th September.” Glenn Tepper

Vadodara is the next stop and later in the month a further course is planned under the direction of Ashwin Kumar Padukone.

“Thanks to Mr.Haresh Sangtani, Honorary Secretary of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association, for encouraging me and hosting course in Gujarat. I would like take this opportunity to thank the Table Tennis Federation of India and Tenvic Sports for giving me such a unique opportunity. I would also like to thank Mr. Mohan Kumar from Tenvic Sports for his unprecedented support.” Brijesh Acharya

A simple message, co-operate and employ skills learned; progress follows. The Table Tennis Federation of India sets a splendid example.

High Performance and Development Glenn Tepper Vasanth Bharadwaj Dhanraj Choudhhary Brijesh Acharya