CHENNAI: “HIS name is Peter Engel, but he was always an angel. I don't think there can be anyone like him.” After a long day of table tennis at the Sky Hall in Toyota, paddler Diya Chitale tried to hold back her tears while talking about the demise of her personal coach Peter Engel from Germany.
Every athlete hopes to have a good first few days to help them for the rest of the event. For Diya, it was anything but. On day one of the table tennis team event on September 20, Diya learnt of her coach’s demise. Engel, with whom Diya was closely associated since 2015, died after prolonged illness just days before the Asian Games had begun. That news hit Diya hard. But before the news reached her, Parag Chitale, her father and sports management professional, was contemplating on how to break it to her. “She was very very attached to Peter Engel and we were wondering how to tell her because we were not too sure how she would take it and she's alone there,” he told this daily. As luck would have it, Diya got to know about it through an Indian team player.
The first few days on the table were not the easiest. The Indian women's team was knocked out by lower-ranked North Korea on Tuesday. But Diya knew she had to turn up and perform. Pairing with Manush Shah, she went on to win the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event, after beating World No 4 pair Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals on Friday. Later in the day, Diya and Manush were swept 4-0 by World No 1 pair of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.
“At that moment, I was really, really emotional. But I knew that I had to play against Singapore and I had a lot of matches coming up, including the mixed doubles. Peter would not want me to really dwell on that and would want me to try my best out here,” Diya told this daily from Nagoya after finishing on the podium.
But handling grief is not easy especially if the person has been an integral part of your life. “When she (Diya) woke up early in the morning in Japan to call us, it was still midnight here, she was pretty upset but I’m very proud of the way she's handled herself,” Parag added. “I’m surprised she didn't cry because he was her go-to person for anything in table tennis,” he added.
For Diya, his memories and his lessons will remain forever, as the bronze medal will mean more than just shining metal around her neck. “He was not well for quite some time. So, I remember, when I spoke to him, he told me that he will always be there for me. I told him that I hope you get better soon. But, I think he knew it, I knew it, everybody knew it. But he just told me one thing, that he was proud of me, and that he will always be there for me, no matter what,” she said as her voice was cracking.
But with the ailments he had been suffering, Peter’s demise, may have not come as a surprise. “In April, the doctors had told him he had only two more months, which we all knew. So, the fact that he pulled on till September was way beyond what the doctors had told him. Over the last couple of months, Diya was trying to look for possible opportunities to just go and meet him but he didn't want anybody to see him in that state,” Parag, who used to be a teacher, said.
The news of Engel’s demise has affected her family, too. Diya’s mother, Reshma used to travel with her to Germany for Diya’s training. “She is happy that Diya has won this medal for him,” he said.