Ranking after retiring

I was thrilled to be ranked so high in my age group this year,” remarked Cyus Pestonji who was listed at No. 5 in the age group of 65 to 70 at the recently announced 2019 rankings by Table Tennis (TT) Australia. These rankings are based on competition results during the year in Australia and New Zealand (NZ). He also ranked No. 5 in NZ in their Seniors National Championships in April 2019.
In the Australian National TT Championship at Adelaide, Pestonji played in the team event as well as individual. The teams are age-based and a representation of each state as well as New Zealand. Each state team comprises of a minimum of three players who each play three singles and two doubles. Representing the New South Wales (NSW) A team Pestonji played in the individual singles and doubles in his age group (over 65). He recalled the finals of the team match with Queensland in the Nationals in Adelaide when he was playing the fifth and final game of his match after winning two games each. "I had lost to this opponent in the Nationals last year and did not want to lose again. We got to 8-all and I then won the next three points to win the game. Call it a close shave!”

Cyrus Pestonji (inset and above l): focussing on his table tennis game

Ranked Punjab’s No. 1 in table tennis in Lahore in the 1970s, after he relocated with his family to Sydney in 1981, Pestonji represented the Western District Table Tennis Association. He continued to play in the Sydney District TT competition for about six years until work commitments compelled him to stop. With a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics) from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore and a Masters in Business Administration from Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney, in Australia Pestonji worked for multinationals in the IT sector including Control Data Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Compaq Computers and Hewlett-Packard. Retiring from corporate life in 2015 and returning to competitive table tennis in 2017 after a lapse of 30 years, he represented NSW in the National TT championships in 2018 and again in 2019 when their team won the gold medal.
He has now set his sights on the next nationals in Australia (in Darwin, 2020), the NZ nationals (in Christchurch), and the World Seniors Table Tennis Championships in France in June 2020. Pestonji noted, "I’ll strive to improve next year although there are some very good players ahead of me. I usually try and practice at least twice a week for three hours each time. I increase that to three times a week when getting closer to competing in a tournament. I have a practice buddy and we normally practice together and help each other to improve.” Besides increasing practice time he also plans to improve his mobility and stamina for "everything matters at that level of championship.”
In Australia, he has played with and against Paul Pinkewich, 13 times Australian champion as well as Brian Berry among numerous others. In Pakistan, he had played against all their top players in the late 60s, early 70s: Shoaib Karimi, Sohail Hyatt, Mazhar Qureshi, Iqbal Ahmed, Michael Rodriguez, Shaheen Latif, Irfanullah, Mohd Jamil and others.
Pestonji started taking an interest in the game when he was around 11 years old, playing with his cousins who had a TT table. He recalled his "frustration during the first week of TT when I had great difficulty in returning the ball back onto the table. We played every day and soon I got the hang of it. I started competing seriously at about 15 years of age, practicing almost every day at the local YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in Lahore where all top players from Punjab would also practice. I was lucky to be coached by Shaheen Latif. I also attended coaching camps organized by the Punjab TT Association. One such camp was conducted by a Chinese coach who spent two weeks with selected players.”
When he captained his Lahore Garrison Boys High School at the inter-school championships in Lahore, they won the championship for the first time ever. He also helped UET to win the Inter University TT Championships for the first time and was awarded the University "Colours” for TT in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971.
"These days I am concentrating on table tennis alone as it requires focus. However, in the past I have played cricket at Grade level, and more socially sports like tennis, soccer, hockey and badminton,” reveals Pestonji who comes from a family of sportsmen and was inspired by them. His great-grandfather Burjor Machliwalla had represented India in cricket. His father Jal Pestonji played for Parsis in Pentangular hockey tournaments between Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Muslims and Europeans. His father-in-law Boni Marolia was captain of Lahore Parsis in various sports.
"My first cricket match was for Lahore Parsis when I was 11 while others were aged over 20,” recalls Cyrus. "I remember the opposition captain asking his fast bowler to bowl slowly in case I got hurt. But after the first over and a few fours, he told the bowler, ‘Bowl as normal!’” Cyrus continues to value the advice he received from Bejan Sidhwa whose niece Khursheed he later married. When Sidhwa’s team was chasing a score of over 200, having lost seven wickets for 70 runs, the young Cyrus had commented "it’s all over now.” To the youngster’s surprise, Sidhwa went in and won the game for the Lahore Parsis, remarking, "Cyrus, this is cricket; you never say die.”

Pestonji with his collection of trophies

Pestonji 6^th from l, with the winning New South Wales team

"I vividly remember an inter-school match which included a huge and fearsome fast bowler. Our opening batsman was soon bowled by this monster bowler and I went in to bat at No. 3. I was apprehensive but remained outwardly calm. The next thing I knew, the ball was on its way to the fence,” stated Cyrus. In college Cyrus had former Pakistan Test cricketer Nazar Mohammad as the team coach. (Nazar Mohammad had scored a century for Pakistan against India in the Lucknow Test in 1952 as Hanif Mohammed’s opening partner.) "He helped me develop the finer points of cricket and mental toughness,” acknowledged Cyrus who represented his University in both cricket and table tennis, earning Sportsman of the Year award.
Pakistan Test cricketers Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Mohsin Khan and Wasim Raja were among other legends whom he had played with and against in Lahore. His favorite memory is hitting Imran Khan (currently Pakistan’s Prime Minister) for boundaries off consecutive balls in the late 1970s.
Among the memorable cricket matches he played in Australia was the one for the Western Suburbs under the captaincy of Test all-rounder Greg Matthews, hitting a match-winning century against Sydney. "We were chasing a big total of 305 against Sydney XI and were six down for 129 when I went in to bat, staring at a big defeat. I remember telling myself to remain calm. At the end of the day I was 122 not out with my team winning by three wickets,” noted Cyrus. In Sydney, first-grade cricket, he got to play with other Australian Test cricketers, Dave Gilbert and Dirk Welham in the 1980s. But for studies and work commitment he could have played Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia.
Appreciating Khursheed’s support on his sports journey, Cyrus stated that he frequently needs to spend time in the evenings and on weekends practicing and participating in tournaments. Father of two sports-loving sons Sheriar and Asfandiar and five grandchildren, Cyrus added, "I enjoy spending time with family, especially my grandchildren who play a lot of sport, cricket, soccer and tennis.”
With respect to his Zoroastrian roots Cyrus noted, "Although I am not a deeply religious person, I do believe in my Zoroastrian religion and its teachings which we learnt through our parents/grandparents and Sunday school teachers in Lahore. I am probably in a similar boat as many others in that I do not understand the language of our prayers. Therefore from a day-to-day perspective I try and act in a humane way while embodying our basic principles of good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”
Having served on the Australian Zoroastrian Association sports sub­committee for decades, Cyrus is deeply involved in organizing annual cricket matches and table tennis tournaments enjoyed by the community. He has learnt, "Involvement in sporting activities is great for individual development as well as team spirit development. When young, try out different sports to see which one you really like and are passionate about. Once decided, put your whole focus on improving your weaknesses in every practice game. When receiving advice from better players or coaches, implement what they say. It takes some time and focus to change and bring about improvement. Continually keep learning from watching better players.”