Mihir Ghosh does not need much introduction in the Indian table tennis fraternity. He started coaching in 1982 when he was Bengal's one of the key paddlers in the early 80s. His coaching spans 41 years. His tutelage has already produced nearly 25 students who represented Bengal in different age groups, nearly 10 paddlers including Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee who have donned India shirts so far. 

Mihir Ghosh still has not stopped his work, even at 63. He hails from Naihati, North 24 Parganas, and built up a coaching center in 2021 there. The coaching center has 12 boards, and also a physical trainer. 

Significantly, the cost of the project reached nearly Rs 1 crore and Ghosh spent the most from the amount he received from his office after retirement. He revealed, “Out of nearly Rs 1 crore I spent nearly Rs 70 lakh. I obtained Rs 85 lakh as the retirement benefit.” 

Mihir Ghosh Table Tennis Academy is the name of his coaching center. It has 40 students starting from the under-12 age group. The students pay a monthly fee of Rs 2000. The training session is held from 9 AM till 10 PM. A few of his students have already started showing promise at the state level, especially Ahana Roy who has been runner-up in the sub-junior nationals, and Nandita Saha who got the support of Go Sports Foundation and got admitted to Raman High Performance Centre recently. 

Ghosh who was awarded 'Kriraguru' by the state sports ministry in 2021 seems nonchalant when asked about his feelings about the students who have been representing the country. He rather wants to be happy with the creation commenting, “I never think in that way. Even if my students do not recognize my contribution then also I do not get concerned. I have at least 40 students who live in the surroundings of Naihati who got a job playing table tennis. But none of them came forward to contribute when I was building up the center and struggling to make up for the shortage of money. Still, I have never minded. My job is to develop a table tennis player so that he or she can settle financially and become a good human being.” 

Still, he could not hide delight and blurted out, “Yes, I feel happy when my students call me on ‘Gurupurnima’. Even Sutirtha and Ayhika keep in touch with me.

Ghosh only expressed little bit of frustration, stating, “I would have been able to develop the center if I had financial assistance. Once I approached UTT for some financial assistance. But I have not yet received any response.”