Boria Majumdar in Paris
On Teacher’s Day, it is time to pause and appreciate the work that some of our coaches do, or have done, with our Para athletes over the last few years. Maybe that’s why Sumit Antil, soon after winning the gold medal, put it around the neck of his coach as a gesture of appreciation for all the hard work that was done behind the scenes. Maybe for the same reason that Sheetal Devi decided to dedicate her medal to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, set up by her coach Kuldeep Vedwan, who has worked tirelessly with Sheetal for the last three years.
“You can’t let these young athletes be on their own,” said Gaurav Khanna, head coach of the Para-Badminton team. “When Palak faced the issue with the bone tumour, many had written her off. But then, that’s where the coach’s job becomes the most important. If I tell her as a coach that she can surely make a comeback and will play in the Paralympics, she will feel better and think not all is lost.”
“Gaurav sir was God sent,” said Palak. “He mentored me at my worst and maybe that’s why I am back playing and managed to come to Paris for the Paralympics.”
“Coaches aren’t there just to mentor or teach,” said Khanna with reference to Suhas Yathiraj. “You need to identify talent and then convince them to hone it.”
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“I was actually DM of Azamgarh when there was a competition organised in my area,” said Yathiraj. “I had gone to inaugurate it and, like you play casually, I was doing the same with the local players. That’s when my coach saw me play and asked if I wanted to play Para Badminton. I had never heard of it and said no, as I was busy with my day job and it wasn’t possible.
“Three months later, I called Sir and said I wanted to try my hand at it. After a few months, we travelled to China for my first tournament and I managed to do well there and win it. Had I lost there, I would have come back to India and no one would have known about Suhas LY the athlete. Much credit goes to Gaurav Sir for getting me to where I am.”
A coach is not just a teacher. Rather, for some like Sheetal, Kuldeep is also her source of mental strength. “Each time I hit a bad shot, I looked at Sir in the stands,” said Sheetal. “And Sir would gesture to me to stay calm and focus on my game. That’s what helped me a lot. I knew Sir was there and he would have told me if anything was wrong. Abhilasha mam was constantly encouraging me even when there was pressure. That’s why I want to dedicate the medal to my coaches and the academy.”
“As coaches, you live this life,” said Khanna. “You aren’t playing, and yet you are very much out there living every moment with the athlete. You know what’s going through their minds and you want to help as much as possible. It is a unique relationship. And yet, you need to know that it is the athlete who will win and you must give the athlete his or her space. As coach, you need to be backstage and not become the centre of attention.”
To every coach, on Teacher’s Day, we celebrate you all for the work you do and hope we produce many more coaches in India, for that’s a dire need. We need to coach our coaches and reduce the dependence on foreigners as we forge ahead to become a stronger sporting nation.
Also Read: When Nishad Kumar interviewed Sumit Antil