Way beyond the blue: DSA let go it’s talented Table Tennis coach Partha Pratim Deb!

May 5: Southern Assam has not been able to produce players at the state or national level to that extent as it should have been, inspite of huge potential among the youths. A lot of factors are responsible for this sorry state of affairs, out of which, lack of proper infrastructural facilities, dearth of proper coaching are just a few. For many sporting events, off and on reputed coaches for different sporting events are hired from outside the valley. However, history is also witness to the fact that many local youths and veterans often proved themselves to be dedicated coaches who successfully nurtured young talents and prepared them for future stride in the arena of sports.

It is in this connection that District Sports Association (DSA), Silchar and many other sporting organisations have been in the forefront in providing impetus to games and sports activities in Barak Valley. In all these years, DSA Silchar has come up like a father figure providing training to the budding talents in a plethora of sporting events, both indoor and outdoor. Many parents and guardians are too eager to train their wards in either or the sports so that they can carve a niche for themselves in the state and national level events. The keen interest exhibited by the parents now-a-days is indeed a blessing for the growth and development of sports activities in this part of the region.

But to nurture the budding talents, proper training by expert trainers is sina qua non. One such youth, with a passion for Table Tennis is Partha Pratim Deb. A coach with a zeal to train the budding paddlers, Partha Pratim is associated with Udharbond Table Tennis Club and was also a part & parcel of the Table Tennis wing of Silchar DSA. An ITTF Level-2 coach, Partha Pratim provided coaching at DSA since 2016. But what went wrong, that led this lively coach to suddenly severe ties with Table Tennis Academy of Silchar DSA in February 2021?

In conversation with way2barak, Sports Organiser and General Secretary of Table Tennis Club, Udharbond Pranabananda Das said, “Partha is indeed a very talented coach and is associated with our club since long. He is also the Assistant General Secretary of the TT Club. A school teacher by profession, it becomes very difficult for him to devote his time among his job, duties as a coach at DSA and TT Club. In our club, he also looks after the organisational matters. So that might be the most plausible reason why he has given up coaching at DSA.” Partha Pratim Deb during his interaction with our correspondent also initially aired similar views. But was it the only cause to seek divorce from the post of coach at DSA Silchar?

On being asked about his journey as TT Coach at DSA, Partha Pratim told, “When the Table Tennis wing started at DSA, myself along with Sanjib Sharma were associated with it as trainers. We joined Table Tennis Academy at Silchar DSA in 2016. However, after sometime, Sanjib Sharma left DSA, but I continued till February 2021. At that time, I used to give coaching at both DSA Silchar and TT Club Udharbond. It was indeed a tough matter to balance the responsibilities at two places and do proper justice to the work I was doing. Moreover, being a school teacher, I remain engaged the whole day. It is only in the evening, that I get time to provide coaching. So ultimately, I had to take a harsh decision between DSA & TT Club. Finally, I thought it wise to leave Silchar DSA.”

“When Sanjib Sharma left DSA, two more ITTF Level 1 coaches were roped in at the Table Tennis Academy by the DSA authorities. So we three did the job over there. When I left DSA, there were around 23 students who got themselves enrolled for coaching, but out of them 16 to 17 used to come regularly. My last day as coach at DSA was 26 February, 2021. The last event in which I participated was a special camp, after which, I left the task,” quipped Partha Pratim Deb.

So did you give a formal resignation letter to the DSA authorities? To this Partha Pratim said, “Look, in 2016, when I set foot at DSA, Subimal Kaku (Sithil Kaku) called me and asked to do coaching for Table Tennis players. It was a verbal arrangement. Ajay Kaku (Ajay Chakraborty) also had a role in it. He had a talk with Pranab da (Pranababnanda Das), who then told me to join there. I was not given any official appointment as the Table Tennis coach of Silchar DSA. It was all a verbal arrangement. So when I decided to leave, I too conveyed my decision in a verbal manner to my colleagues over there.”

A coach with an extraordinary caliber walked out of DSA, yet none persuaded him to stay back? So what did the Secretary of DSA say? Partha Pratim replied, “First of all, I informed the Indoor Secretary, then I also informed Ajay Chakraborty. Though I did not get the opportunity then to have a personal talk with Badsha da (DSA GS Bijendra Prasad Singh), I had a chat with him in WhatsApp. Later I met him once in a marriage, when he told me that he would talk with me later. But since then nothing of that sort actually happened.”

A few parents, whose wards used to take coaching from Partha Pratim at DSA Silchar expressed surprise at the entire episode. One of the parents unwilling to be named said, “We often hear sports organisers involve in  brainstorming sessions for bringing in some good coach from outside this region, but why they are so casual when it comes at retaining such a good local coach! Some of us are now taking our child to TT Club Udharbond to get coaching from Partha Pratim Deb.”

What about the infrastructural facilities available for grooming table tennis aspirants over here? To this, Partha Pratim said, “It’s not about blaming somebody. For proper coaching, one needs proper infrastructure.” A parent who used to send his child for Table Tennis coaching at DSA said that the two rooms which were used for this purpose had slippery floor, which is not suitable for playing Table Tennis. Moreover, the rooms were too hot, which is not at all conducive for training sessions.

As regards the infrastructural facilities at Table Tennis Club, Udharbond, Partha Pratim Deb said, “Over here, we have a proper mini indoor stadium conducive for playing Table Tennis. The only lacunae is that of synthetic or else we have every other facilities over here. We have set up of 7 to 8 tables inside the indoor stadium.”

An IITF Level 2 (star) coach, Partha Pratim Deb expressed his sincere gratitude to Prananbanada Das for providing an atmosphere conducive for the progress of Table Tennis at the Club in Udharbond. “I took the Table Tennis bat in my hand for the first time when I was a student of HSLC. I started my sporting career too late. But I sincerely want that those interested in Table Tennis should start playing at an early age. This is what we are exactly doing at TT Club.”

Is it a tale of apathy, that such a locally available resource is being left out by Silchar DSA? When it comes to games and sports, we often hear people in Silchar say, “There is lack of proper coaches or trainers in our valley.” But here, we have a trainer, who walks away from our temple of sports (DSA) in front of all, yet they seems to be unconcerned! Let sports survive, let the budding paddlers dream of achieving big; but at the same time, let us also wish that they are trained by talented coaches like Partha Pratim Deb….

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