What’s the one standout feature of the conclave that leaves a lasting impression? While seeing a galaxy of sportspersons share their experiences is in itself enriching, what makes the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 unique is the presence of multiple mentors and mentees. When Abhinav Bindra is on stage speaking about how to win on the biggest stage of all, there will be Esha Singh, Sift Kaur Samra and Shriyanka Sadangi listening to the legend in the audience. They will be in the same boat in Paris, faced with the biggest moment of their lives. Listening to Abhinav, PR Sreejesh, Sourav Ganguly or Neeraj Chopra can only help them on that journey.
It is not just shooting. When we get to badminton, shuttlers like Krishna Nagar, Suhas Yathiraj and Pramod Bhagat will benefit from listening to Pullela Gopichand and Gaurav Khanna. While Khanna is the coach of the Para badminton national team, Gopichand is someone who they will surely benefit from interacting with. Gopi’s years of experience as the Indian badminton head coach can only help Yathiraj, for example, as he prepares to replicate his World-Championship-winning form in Paris.
Across-sport interactions rarely happen between athletes. And that’s where we wish to make a difference. Anush Agarwalla, who made history by qualifying for the Olympics, will be enriched by conversing with someone like Mary Kom or Mahesh Bhupathi, people who have done well on the biggest stage of all. Sreejesh, for example, a hockey legend, was a real source of real inspiration for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty during the Asian Games, something the duo spoke about in detail a few days earlier.
“On the eve of our final, we wouldn’t stay in our room,” said Satwik. “We would go to someone else’s room and try and unwind. Sreejesh bhaiya would tell us about his experiences, and it helped a lot in dealing with the pressure ahead of the big final.”
With just months left for the big prize, to be able to provide the athletes with a platform where the youngsters can converse with, and benefit from, the best of Indian sport is a feature of the Trailblazers conclave. While there is no squash at the Olympics, any young athlete will learn a lot from Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa, legends of Indian squash who have done well at the highest level for years.
What does it take to fight adversity? How do you keep motivating yourself and how do you deal with unexpected hurdles? Such questions are best answered by men and women who have been there and done that, and that’s what will happen over two days in Kolkata.
At the essence of the conclave is the guru-shishya parampara. The passing of the baton, and the transfer of relevant information from one generation to another. Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, this should make a significant difference to the athletes who have made the cut.