Arup Basak

Full Description: Arup Basak (born 3 December 1973) is a former Indian Professional Table Tennis Player & currently the National coach of the Indian Table Tennis Team. He was conferred with the prestigious Dhyan Chand Award 2019, by The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India for his outstanding achievements and contribution for the promotion of Table Tennis. The award was given at the hands of the Hon’ble President of India on August 29, 2019 at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. He is the first Table Tennis player in India to receive this coveted award. He is employed at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). Early life and background Arup Basak was born in Kolkata, West Bengal on December 03, 1973, to a Bengali speaking family. His father, Late Rameswar Basak was an employee in Tyre Corporation of India Ltd, and his mother Chitra Basak is a housewife. Arup is the youngest among his siblings. He has two sisters, both settled in Kolkata. Since the favorite sport for the people of Calcutta was football, in my early years. Arup too was attracted to the game of Football. Incidentally, there was a Table Tennis Club in the vicinity of Arup Basak residence. On his sister’s insistence, Arup registered in the Table Tennis Academy and started playing. The thing that attracted Arup Basak more towards Table Tennis was that unlike other sports, it can be played during any time of the year. During initial days, there was a vacancy in sub-junior category and coincidentally Arup Performance has improved a lot, became very consistent, and soon got selected in Bengal Team. Career Arup Basak has been an ace Table Tennis player of the India. He was the National Champion and National Games Champion in 1993. Arup is the most respected personality amongst the Table Tennis fraternity. During his career, Arup Basak has won 6 Gold Medals, 5 Silver Medals, and 3 Bronze Medals in Commonwealth Championship and SAF Games. Besides, he is also a proud recipient of 27 Gold, 15 Silver and 10 Bronze Medals in National Championships and National Games. He has also distinction of winning National title in the Men’s Singles in 1993 along with Gold Medal in the National Games and SAF Games in the same year- a feat yet to be achieved by any player in the history of Indian Table Tennis as well as Bengal. Coaching Career He has been the National Coach of Indian Team participating in international tournaments. Arup Basak focuses more on practicing with youngsters and giving constant advice combining his experience with current technology. Arup Basak was one of the coach of the Indian Team, which played in World Championship in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. He has also been one of the Coach of Indian Team, which participated in the Asian Championship in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. His style of coaching has benefitted players immensely. He has also been instrumental in getting 4 of players to qualify for the Indian squad to participate in the Rio Olympics for the first time. Due to the effective coaching of Arup Basak, the Indian team has excelled in international tournaments in recent tournaments. Prior to his appointment as the National Coach, he has also been the National Selector. Currently, he has been nominated to the most esteemed post of the National Coach of the Indian Team participating in various international tournaments.