India's foreign TT coach quits after Asian Games high

Foreign table tennis coach Massimo Costantini has decided against renewing his contract with the Indian team citing personal reasons.

M P 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.

The Italian, who had returned to coach India in September 2016 on a two-year contract, guided India to two historic performances this year. 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 semifinals.

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