'Training in China will be helpful to TT players'

Indian paddlers' current training stint in China, their third in the last twelve months, will help them fine-tune their skills as they look to bag a handful of medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, feels national coach Massimo Constantini.

Constatini, who is with the Indian players currently undergoing a 17-day special camp in Zhengding, China, said playing practice matches against Chinese paddlers would pay rich dividends in the Delhi Games.

"In next year's Commonwealth Games, we are going to play mostly against Chinese players (representing nations like Singapore, Australia, Canada and Malaysia). So we need to be closer to them by learning and adopting their style of play if we are to succeed next year," Constantini told PTI from China.

"I believe training in China gives the players a different motivation. We are training at a table tennis superpower. So, the entire mentality of our players changes," he said.

Constantini is pleased about the fact that table-tennis in India is taking strides towards professionalism, especially in the run-up to the Delhi Games.

"It is the best preparation we have - very close to the Chinese style and very far from the European one. I am quite convinced that if the government keeps supporting us in every matter, we will work towards bringing the best results for the country," said the Italian.

After appointing a physiotherapy specialist, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) recently roped in Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal's younger brother Rajath as sports analyst with the Delhi Games in mind.

The coach also lavished rich praise on the training facilities at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, where a month-long camp was recently held with the Commonwealth probables.

"At the moment, Pune represents the best solution for the players' training in India. The food, accommodation and other facilities met our expectations," Constantini said.

"I realized that our players do well at domestic level. During this camp I saw that the players have improved a lot but have to keep working hard to achieve results in important events," he added.

The next international assignment for the Indians would be the Pro Tour English Open in Sheffield later this month, followed by the 19th Asian Table Tennis Championship in Lucknow from November 16-22.