LUCKNOW, May 31 -- The Uttar Pradesh Table Tennis team has won a bronze medal at the senior national championship only twice: at Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Gujarat in 1977 and thereafter, in 2000, here in Lucknow, in its 61 years of existence since 1954. During the 2000 event at the Gomti Nagar Stadium, a series of episodes unfolded. Uttar Pradesh men, comprising Parag Agarwal, SP Singh, Zabarjeet Singh and Ksuhik Dey Sarkar, came from behind to win the battle against Tamil Nadu 3-2 to make it to the semi-final, before losing to Petroleum, 2-3, in the semi-final. The play-off for the bronze medal saw UP win and consequently, UP coach Sunil Joshi quit smoking, as he had vowed to do so only if Uttar Pradesh made a podium finish. A tense Joshi was caught puffing by his father just outside the playing arena when Uttar Pradesh was down 0-2. Seeing his father, Joshi promised him to quit smoking, if UP made it to the semi-finals. However, the UP men came out with bronze medals around their necks and Joshi quit smoking forever. Joshi is back in action at the newly established Ekana Table Tennis Academy here in Lucknow even after serving the Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate as sports officer for 29 years and his last assignment was with the TT Sports Hostel at Eklavya Stadium in Agra where he served for almost six years. "It's a fresh start for me and I am enjoying this stint now at one of the best TT academies in the country here. Within a few months' time, I have 10-15 kids for training as well as some veterans, who come to play table tennis for fitness and entertainment," said Joshi on Friday, while training a group of children at his new destination. Joshi's mantra of sincere training makes him stand apart from others as he spends his three-hour stint at the Ekana TT Academy without a break and his set of drills for training of children of all age groups is something special where the children first go through the physical drills before hitting the table with top spins and forehand and backhand smashes. "I am not here to sell any dream to paddlers, but what I can promise them is top-quality training at a well-developed centre here, where we have 10 tables and all other equipment for the purpose," said Joshi, who served as an ad hoc coach at the start of his career after completing his NIS degree, before joining the UP Sports Directorate through the Public Service Commission. Joshi, who has trained several national players from Uttar Pradesh, says that there is no dearth of talent in the state and in the last few years, there is a tremendous rise in the interest of players for the sport and it's time to convert these young talents into national medalists. "In fact, Uttar Pradesh Table Tennis is very supportive to the activities of sports across the state and many academies, mostly in Noida, Ghaziabad and even in Prayagraj, Lucknow have been doing pretty well," he said, adding, "Now, Ekana academy is another centre for such talents to hone their skills and I am thankful to Ekana Sportz City's managing director, Udai Sinha, for developing such a centre in the state capital." "Table tennis is a sport with immense potential in India, and we're providing world-class facilities right here at Ekana," says Joshi. "Here we're not just teaching table tennis; we're building athletes," he added. Uttar Pradesh Table Tennis Association's CEO Arun Banerjee also praised Joshi for his knowledge of the game. "Joshi has been a fine coach, and his knowledge of the game is immense. He has done good for the state teams in the past and I am sure that he will continue to keep doing his good work as coach," Banerjee said....