India's Italian Table Tennis coach quits after Asian Games high

India’s table tennis coach Massimo Costantini has decided against renewing his contract with the Indian team citing personal reasons. Under Costantini’s guidance, Manika Batra won an unprecedented women’s singles gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast while the Sharath Kamal led men’s team won India its first-ever medal at the Asian Games after reaching the semi-finals.

Read More | ISRO’s Mangalyaan completes four years in Mars orbit, sends back images

MP Singh, secretary at the Table Tennis Federation of India, confirmed the development to PTI.

“He had some issues with his restaurant back home in Italy. He also got an offer from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to work as high-performance director. Another reason was that he wanted to spend more time with family,” Singh said.

Also Read | Amit Shah to attend BJP workers meet in Jaipur today

The Italian had returned to coach India in September 2016 on a two-year.

Sharath also secured a bronze with Manika in Jakarta, capping off India’s incredible campaign at the Asian Games.