'Coaches need to be recognised'
December 6, 2015, Bengaluru, DHNS
The Go Sports Foundation, which looks after the needs of some of top athletes in the country, held a conclave here on Saturday with the focus centered around coaching systems in the country.
National badminton coach P Gopichand, ace swimming coach Nihar Amin and country’s top golf coach Vijay Divecha where among the key dignitaries who shared the stage with former national badminton champion Aparna Poppat and noted physiotherapist John Gloster.
Gopichand, the man behind the rise of shuttlers like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and K Srikanth, felt coaches don’t get the same applause as their wards. “When an athlete wins an international medal, governments and corporates instantly shower them with cash bonanzas and other gifts. But very few think about the coaches or support staff.
“The players don’t become champions without the guidance of coaches. I think even athletes must come forward and recognise their coaches. The irony is that while we hail from a country where a teacher is considered revered, it simply is not there in practice. They are almost forgotten during success.”
Amin, the guiding force behind ace swimmers Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade, echoed the thoughts. “During a function to honour medal winners from 2014 Asian Games, barring Sania Mirza not one athlete remembered the effort put in by their coaches. She spoke highly about her coaches. I was very impressed.”
Recalling his early struggles as a coach, Gopichand said the country lacked a system to look after its coaches at various levels. “You need world-class coaches at three levels -- grassroot, intermediary and top level. Without grassroot, there is no intermediary and without intermediary, there is no top-level. Like how you need good kindergarten teachers, grassroot spotting and education is very important. We have to take care of them.”
National badminton coach P Gopichand, ace swimming coach Nihar Amin and country’s top golf coach Vijay Divecha where among the key dignitaries who shared the stage with former national badminton champion Aparna Poppat and noted physiotherapist John Gloster.
Gopichand, the man behind the rise of shuttlers like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and K Srikanth, felt coaches don’t get the same applause as their wards. “When an athlete wins an international medal, governments and corporates instantly shower them with cash bonanzas and other gifts. But very few think about the coaches or support staff.
“The players don’t become champions without the guidance of coaches. I think even athletes must come forward and recognise their coaches. The irony is that while we hail from a country where a teacher is considered revered, it simply is not there in practice. They are almost forgotten during success.”
Amin, the guiding force behind ace swimmers Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade, echoed the thoughts. “During a function to honour medal winners from 2014 Asian Games, barring Sania Mirza not one athlete remembered the effort put in by their coaches. She spoke highly about her coaches. I was very impressed.”
Recalling his early struggles as a coach, Gopichand said the country lacked a system to look after its coaches at various levels. “You need world-class coaches at three levels -- grassroot, intermediary and top level. Without grassroot, there is no intermediary and without intermediary, there is no top-level. Like how you need good kindergarten teachers, grassroot spotting and education is very important. We have to take care of them.”
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