PANJIM: A table tennis coach of the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) is likely to receive a warning from the management within the next fortnight for poor performance.
Coach Amit Naik has been at the receiving end of various complaints in the past from parents.
In the past, he was accused of not having players to train. He was then transferred from Chicalim to Panjim. The decision to issue a warning was revealed by Director (coaching) Bruno Coutinho, who informed that he had discussed the matter with the Goa Table Tennis Association.
The Goa Table Tennis Association had also decided to give him a couple of other schools in addition to his present responsibilities.
According to Coutinho, as per a video clip sent to him by Amit Naik, he had around 8-9 trainees in the evening. Since he was presently holidaying, the warning would be issued once he resumes work within the next five days.
This development follows a letter that was sent by Sandeep Heble, chairman of Media Cell, Goa Table Tennis Association, in which he raised questions as to the relevance of having such a SAG coach, who had no trainees and had no results to show.
Speaking to the O Heraldo, Heble said, “When I visited the camp, I saw him on his mobile phone doing nothing. Why does the SAG need to have such a person on its rolls?”
Heble said, “It was pertinent to mention that private coaches at various locations such as Don Bosco Oratory, Panjim or BPS Sports Club, Margao or South Goa Table Tennis Academy at Fatorda and other locations were successfully drawing large numbers of children to their sessions. In stark contrast, it is extremely disheartening to see just 3 to 5 trainees attending the SAG’s RCC Table Tennis training at Campal, managed by the SAG TT coach Amit Naik, NIS.”
“The coaching cell within the SAG needs immediate restructuring to monitor the performance of its coaches. It is high time a robust supervision mechanism is established to ensure coaches are producing tangible results and not merely coasting along, drawing salaries with no trainees to show for it,” he said.
He ended by saying that the State’s young talent deserved better.
