TT4Change Project Visit: Building Future Leaders through Table Tennis in Gondia, India

The ITTF Foundation Social Impact team, represented by Social Impact Coordinator Sara Moamen Abdelsamie, recently travelled to India to visit the Table Tennis Leadership Programme, a TT4Change project led by the Sportathon Foundation in Gondia, Maharashtra, India, and was selected as part of the TT4Change Generation 2026. Unlike a visit to a project closing its cycle, this one came at the very beginning: the two-year programme is in its orientation phase, with parents in the communities being introduced to the project and students still enrolling. Over three days, Sara met the co-founders, coaches, principals, parents, and young participants who will carry the programme forward, and saw the four very different communities it is designed to reach.

Vivek Mandir School & Mangalam School: parents, children, and testimonials

The visit began with an orientation meeting alongside Sportathon Co-Founder Prashant Mishra and Programme Associate Rajeev Kumar Singh, who walked through the plan for the days ahead. From there, we headed to the programme's first location, Vivek Mandir School, where the facilities were welcoming and the staff immediately cooperative. Waiting there was a full room of stakeholders: parents of participating students, President, Vice President, and Secretary of Swami Vivekanand Shikshan Sanstha, Principal of Vivek Mandir School, and Secretary of the Gondia Table Tennis Association. What stood out most was how much the parents already expected from the programme and how clearly they could name it.

Yugansh's mother explained that her son took up table tennis only three years ago, and that the change in both his skills and his personality has been unmistakable. Becoming an athlete taught him time management, cut down his screen time, and ended the junk food.

Uttara's mother, whose daughter already represents her state, said she was delighted to see her join something so meaningful, and hopes it gives her the confidence to one day represent her country nationally and internationally.

Jinal's father spoke about motivation: programmes like this one, he said, are exactly what children need, and he is certain his daughter's self-esteem will rub off on her teammates in the best possible way.

Principal Swapna Balkar backed the programme fully. These activities, she said, give children what they genuinely need for life, including teamwork, communication, and leadership, and help them balance their academic and athletic lives.

Sportathon Community Youth Captains Sapna Rohit Chauhan and Shubhangi Rajeshwar Thakre then led a session on Table Tennis for Teamwork and Communication, followed by a reflection exercise in which students drew what the activity had meant to them.

The drawings said it all: some had simply had fun, some were happy, and others had discovered something new.

The second stop was Mangalam School, a residential school for deaf students, where almost all pupils stay year-round apart from three public holiday periods. Here, the TT4Leadership curriculum will need to be reviewed and adapted to the students' needs and abilities.

Together with the school staff, the ITTF Foundation team looked at where the table tennis tables will be placed once they arrive, while the children took part in activities to get them moving.

200 students, one message

The second day opened with an inspirational talk from the ITTF Foundation team to around 200 students at Vivek Mandir School, on the importance of sport in a young person's life: how it builds confidence, how it develops life skills, and how leadership grows out of both. The conversation widened to Sport for Development, and Table Tennis for Development in particular, with an open invitation for every student in the room to join the TT4Leadership programme.

The third location of the visit was Progressive School, where we had a discussion with the school director and principal about the on-ground project delivery.

The director pointed out the importance of building up the energy and physical strength of the children and channelling it into sport and life skills, which will help them develop future leadership.

Building the foundations that make impact last

The final day was about the machinery behind the smiles: stakeholders, curriculum, delivery methods, and Monitoring & Evaluation. In a working session with the Sportathon Foundation team, the group went through strategic goals, curriculum review and adaptation, the programme schedule, and the themes, values, and life skills that will run through the two years.

Prashant confirmed that he will work closely with project colleagues to tailor the curriculum to each location and its local context. Rajeev set out the four focus themes of the project, the eight life skills chosen for the programme, and how the two connect through the programme's values.

We then delivered a session on Monitoring and Evaluation for the Sportathon coaches, focusing on collecting students' feedback in ways that are fun and engaging for children while keeping the data accurate and usable, which will eventually show what this programme has changed.

The last stop of the visit was Palavarchishala, an education centre serving a community that lacks many basic necessities. Despite everything stacked against it, it functions as a beacon of hope, offering learning opportunities and support to children and adults alike.

As a Table Tennis for Change story unfolds

For the Sportathon team, the value of the visit lay in being seen in context.

"It gave us the chance to showcase the real, on-the-ground work we do every day," said Prashant, who described the visit as a genuine turning point. “Conversations from here on will be rooted in ground-level reality, which means the impact on children in Gondia will be more direct.” His ask was refreshingly blunt: "We don't just want validation; we want the kind of feedback that pushes us to get better."

For Rajeev, it was the first visit he had led and coordinated end to end. It was a chance to see the programme in action, identify where to focus, and strengthen his own skills in planning, coordination, and implementation. What he wants for the children goes beyond leadership: the values of sport, and life skills that stay with them.

The Community Youth Captains, Sapna and Shubhangi, both landed on the same detail. The most valuable part, they said, was being corrected. When they made a mistake, they were guided and shown how to improve.

In Gondia, a TT4Change story is just starting, and many things have still been taking shape. But what matters the most is already on track: a team determined to get better, parents actively supporting, and schools that understand why a table tennis table belongs in their halls. And this is how table tennis begins to connect communities, inspire children, and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow.

Learn more about our TT4Change projects and how the ITTF Foundation uses table tennis to create social impact (click here).