The last 12 months have seen a lot of changes to the TTV board with five new directors joining since 2020. We thought it would be a great time to take a moment and get to know some of our more recent TTV Board members a little better with five fast questions.

Recently we spoke to Molina Asthana to learn a bit more about her, her background and goals for her time at TTV.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am lawyer by background but am very passionate about sport, particularly about getting women of diverse backgrounds participating in sport.  I grew up in India where the focus was on academics rather than sport, so I didn’t participate a great deal in sport. I moved to Australia in 2004 and inspired by the Australian passion for sport, I started running and have now completed a number of half marathons.

Sport has a lot of advantages, particularly for women from multicultural backgrounds. It helps build their confidence, overcome issues of isolation and depression in a new country, find peer support, provides strength to come out of abusive relationships and it help create a sense of belonging in a new country. Despite the advantages, I see very few migrant women participating in sport. I therefore founded the NFP Multicultural Women in Sport a few years ago which aims to empower women of diverse background through sport.

I also serve on the boards of AFL South East Commission, Gymnastics Victoria and am a member of the Football Federation of Victoria tribunal. I have been an ambassador for AFL, Cricket Australia, Commonwealth Games and Jean Hailes Women’s Health Week. I have a passion for community work and also serve on some non- sporting boards including the Law Institute of Victoria, AMES Australia, Good Shephard ANZ and the Graduate House of the University of Melbourne.

What brought you to TTV?

Table Tennis is a popular sport in India played in social settings. I have been following Table Tennis in Australia since I moved here and in the past have spoken at the annual TT Club Conference and also organised a Table Tennis tournament as a Commonwealth Games Ambassador.

When the opportunity came up to apply for the TTV board, I thought it would be great to serve on the board of a sport that I am familiar with, and which is so popular amongst migrant communities. I am hopeful that my extensive governance skills and passion for multicultural engagement would be useful for TTV and I will be able to contribute to the growth of the game in Victoria.

What are your goals for TTV?

I would like to see a greater uptake for Table Tennis in Victoria and to that end I would be keen to contribute to the strategy for its growth.

I would also like to contribute towards improving our governance which is led by a largely new and invigorated team.

Increasing participation of people of multicultural background is my passion so I would also like to work towards an increased outreach to that cohort, particularly women.

Connection to members is key and particularly after COVID, I would be keen to see how we can support our clubs in reverting to the same levels of activity.

What do you find rewarding and challenging about serving on the board of an SSO?

Navigating the governance of SSOs is both rewarding and challenging as there is a great potential to contribute but the resourcing may not always be commensurate to achieve those goals.

I love the closer connection to the grassroot that SSOs have.

The Governance for some SSOs may still be evolving and that sometimes proves to be challenge but I’m very excited about joining TTV and have felt very welcomed on the board.

I also love attending sporting event and watching sport live and with Covid restrictions being eased I am looking forward to opportunities to do that.

What would you say to the TTV members during this time?

I would ask them to remain optimistic. I have a strong feeling that once things start returning to normal, people will take that opportunity to return to sport in numbers, having missed out on it for so long.

I see a bright future for Table Tennis as a sport in Victoria and I look forward to meeting our members face to face.