GANDHIDHAM, Nov 18: It was a proud moment for Gujarat as a former player and seasoned coach Mr. Nilay Vyas was named as the coach for the Para Table Tennis National Training Camp by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) today.
The camp will be held at the Abhay Prashal Stadium in Indore from November 24 to December 3, 2021.
Vyas will be joined by former national champions Mrs Rinku Acharya of Indore and Mr Jitendra Singh Bisht from Uttarakhand.
They will oversee a 16-member team that has four players from Gujarat. Olympic silver medallist in SF4 category Bhavina Patel will be the star attraction while Olympian Sonal Patel (SF3), Yezdi Bhamgara (SM6) and Shital Dorji (SF5) were the other paddlers from the state.
“I am looking forward to working alongside two national champions. I am definitely excited and overwhelmed by the opportunity that came my way. And I am looking forward to giving my best to the players,” Mr Vyas, an ITTF Level 2 certified coach, said.
Interestingly, Mr Vyas found his calling as a coach quite early in his career and had accompanied Manav Thakkar to Sweden and two ITTF Pro Tour tournaments in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in 2016.
“Actually, I had started coaching when I was in college. It did not take me long to realise my true calling and in the past 21 years I think I had earned my badge working with some special talents,” Mr Vyas said. “The 2016 journey will be special as it is during this time Manav jumped from being in the 70s to 40s (in World Ranking). The camp in Sweden is also a big learning process for me and I will share everything that I have learnt so far,” the 42-year-old added.
Meanwhile, praising Mr Vyas, Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) president Mr Vipul Mittra, IAS, said. “Mr Vyas is one of the most hardworking and popular coaches in the state. It is a proud moment for us to see that has been entrusted with the job of sharpening the edges of our champion para table tennis players along with two accomplished former players. I think his knowledge will be crucial in helping the development of our players.”
“Also, four players selected for the national camp speak volumes of the talent that is available in the state. All four of them are the top-ranked players in their respective categories and both Bhavina (12th) and Sonal (20th) are among the world’s best. I am sure they all will benefit from the camp,” Mr Mittra added.
Written by : Pranjal Protim Boruah