Even for someone who has seen red-tapism at its worst in his seven-month stint as the senior India coach, the Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) decision not to renew his contract after the Doha Asian Games must have come as a surprise to Benone Cristian Grigore.

The TTFI has decided not only to name a new coach after the Asian Games, but also a new junior national coach in place of Yin Wei. While the senior coach would definitely be a European, the junior coach would be from China.

The decision to replace Grigore has not yet been officially made known to the coach, but the Swede knows what is coming. “Money is a problem. So far as my performance goes, I think I have done pretty well with India winning two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. That’s the reason why I asked for a raise. But, obviously they have other ideas,” he said.

Grigore also rubbished the notion that he was more a motivator and not as good technically. “If that is the case, then how come I was voted the best coach in Sweden for two years? It’s not for nothing that I coached the likes of Jan-Ove Waldner and Jorgen Persson.

“Moreover, what changes in technique do you need to make in players like Sarath Kamal and Soumyadeep Roy?” he asked.

Grigore will be leaving for Sao Paulo tomorrow to join the India squad at the Brazil Open. The squad will then move to Chile and then the US. These ITTF Pro-Tour meets will all be in preparation for the Asian Games in Doha, his swansong.

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