The Hindu : Sport / Table Tennis : Future certainly looks very bright, says Yefremov

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Thursday, May 29, 2008
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Future certainly looks very bright, says Yefremov

Stan Rayan

— Photo: H. Vibhu

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: National table tennis coach Aleksey Yefremov is all praise for his wards.

KOCHI: As they danced around the tables, forehand topspin flowing out of their fast racquets, National table tennis coach Aleksey Yefremov took a few steps down memory lane.

“Whenever I look at these boys, the French team at the 1997 World Championship comes to my mind.

Three left-handers

There were three left-handers, Jean-Philippe Gatien, Patrick Chila and Christophe Legout, in that team which finished runner-up to China in England,” said Yefremov, pointing to the young National campers Devesh Karia, Zubin Kumar and Sayam Paul Roy at the Regional Sports Centre here on Wednesday.

“These youngsters are all lefthanders and they enjoy a big advantage,” said the Belarussian.

“Lefthanders have a different vision of the game, they think differently, they have a big advantage in service and a different type of spin which makes it very difficult for their opponents. Your future certainly looks very bright.”

Yefremov loves everything Indian, though he finds the food a bit hot. “Yours is a very interesting country…interesting traditions, history and religions,” said the 33-year-old.

He is a big fan of Indian cinema and Raj Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty are his favourites. “Disco Dancer (the hit film starring Mithun) is my favourite movie.”

Though his contract is till the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, he has long-term plans in India.

“I have two goals, to improve India’s world ranking by producing good results at the Asian, Commonwealth, World Championships and the Olympics and also to develop the sport in the country by spotting and grooming talent.”

Impressed with Amalraj

Chennai’s Amalraj is one of the players who has impressed him very much.

“He is a very fast player, incredibly fast. If he adds a little more power, he will go places.”

He has been watching the National campers for the last few months but in Kochi, he also got a first taste of the local talent.

“Three girls…Maria Rony, Seraha Jacob and Gayatri Girish look very promising. Maria, especially, is very talented. She goes for fast balls, uses a lot of spin and most crucially, observes the other side of the table very well.”

With the world body ITTF banning synthetic glue after this year’s Beijing Olympics, Yefremov will have another crucial role to play.

“Only water-based glue will be allowed from September which should slow down the game. The speed of the ball and power will come down by five per cent and the rotation (spin) by nearly 12 per cent,” said the Belarussian.

With longer rallies, the future looks very interesting.

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