The present and future of sports coaching in India

Vishal Uppal assesses the state of coaching in urban and rural India.

The success of a player primarily depends on coaching. A player needs coaching at every stage. A good coach works on multiple aspects. The fitness, diet, technique, execution and strategy required to play a particular sport is devised by a coach. Successful players have publicly admitted the role of their coaches and their coaching. The standard of coaching has drastically risen in last two decades. Coaching is now available at every level. The gradual rise in quality and availability of coaching can be attributed to multiple factors.

The first factor is inspiring performance of Indian sports fraternity on world stage. Indians players are winning medals and are being ranked in top few in certain sports. India is doing exceptionally good in Cricket, Hockey, Badminton, Tennis, Table Tennis, Boxing, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Shooting, Archery, Gymnastics and Athletics. Children as young as five are aspiring to learn and excel in sports. Parents are now seeking services of coaches to train their kids from elementary level. This has opened avenues for coaches. The coaches who worked only in academic institutions now run their sports coaching classes to supplement their income and train the aspirants. The sportsmen who were not able to make it higher levels are now working as full time elementary coaches.

The second factor is availability of sporting infrastructure. The boom in sectors such as Information Technology has brought people in IT hubs. This led to development of condominium complexes. These housing complexes are equipped with basic infrastructure that is helping children work on their basic skills. A good housing complex has swimming pool, badminton court, squash court, volleyball court and many other based on the how premium is the complex. In addition, municipalities in Tier A and Tier B cities in India have developed sports facilities that provide skating rinks, large grounds for hosting cricket and soccer tournaments and indoor halls for practicing badminton and table tennis. These facilities also host summer and winter camps for coaching players. In addition, big sports equipment merchandisers have opened courts in and around malls in Metropolitan cities. Decathlon stores in India have provided courts for practicing basketball, hockey, skating and other popular sports. 

The veteran wrestlers in village gymnasiums are training entrants to compete at village, district and state level. Most wrestling champions are a gift of traditional training methodology where the teacher and pupil share a deep bond. As emphasis on sports is increasing, the villages are churning out sportsmen trained in traditional sports.

The good part is opening up of specialist training academies. These academies are being opened by retired sports personalities and are contributing by training men and women in competitive sports. Some of these academies are meant for training the learners for international level. The Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad is headed by Pullela Gopichand. The academy has produced current and former world number one shuttlers; P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. The cricket academies like National Cricket Academy headed by Anil Kumble; Vengsarkar Cricket Academy founded by Dilip Vengsarkar; Sehwag Cricket Academy run by Virender Sehwag and many other similar academies are imparting quality coaching in Cricket. However, India is still dependent on foreign coaches and academies in foreign countries for specialized coaching in hockey, tennis, archery and shooting. But as former players are hosting camps and venturing into coaching, the dependence will reduce in coming years.

The future of sports coaching in India is on rise and young men and women can definitely get into it. It is a sunshine sector as Indians are keen to get into sporting careers. The coaching profession has scope for making sustainable income; it also presents an opportunity to serve community and nation and finally it is a profession that brings job satisfaction. It is thrilling to see your students grow and win.

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Can India qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022? Why there is a sudden surge of hope for India making to Qatar 2022.

Vishal Uppal assesses the state of sports in the country and prospects of Indian Football team in the qualifiers.

The football in India is like a rare fever. It arrives once in four years. The jerseys of popular players can be spotted on display windows of outlets of sportswear brands. You can find youngsters siding with contending teams by wearing their jerseys and watching the matches with mugs of beer in bars in metropolitan cities. The frenzy is fuelled by media which for most of the year promotes Cricket but switches to football owning to promotion meant for merchandise sales. You can also spot youngsters getting coached in football and playing in grounds that only see cricket for most part of the year.

However, the fan following and awareness of football is increasing by leaps and bounds. Football is highly popular in few states in India. West Bengal, north eastern and southern states take particular interest in football. The football in India has been dominated by clubs sponsored by patron industrial houses. The oldest club is Mohun Bagan A.C. and it is in existence since 1889. East Bengal F.C., Churchill Brothers F.C. of Goa and few others are popular clubs in India. They compete in League Football and Durand Cup.

The football fraternity and fans are suddenly taking a notice at Indian Football team. The team is performing well and beating or drawing with Asian teams for some time. The hope for India qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2022 to be hosted in Qatar is on upsurge. This came after India got placed in Group E in second round Asian Qualifiers. The matches will start from September 5. The team is clubbed with teams of Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Qatar is already qualified for the World Cup because of being a host. India is seen as better side in matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. India can also beat or draw with Qatar and Oman in its reigning form.  

Indian Head Coach Igor Stimac said that "It will be an enormous challenge for your young team. We have been drawn into a very tough group". He later said that “we need to respect every opposition”.

Football fans in India are almost sure of India moving to third qualifying round that will begin in September 2020. The task to play in FIFA World Cup will be tougher in third round as India may have to play strong teams like Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan and Australia. The two top teams in this qualifier will get a ticket to FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The fourth round that starts in October 2021 will provide opportunity to teams placed third in each group. But before we think of fourth and fifth round we have to see how India cruises through second and third round.

It is a tough road and India playing in FIFA World Cup 2022 is still unrealistic. However, we can hope considering how teams improve with each passing match. The dream can also become reality if Indian origin players playing in European Leagues can be convinced to play for India in near future. But considering the improvement in overall facets of sporting in India, the chances of hearing national anthem in coming World Cups are bright. I wish Sunil Chhetri and his team best of luck for second round qualifiers and hope to see them moving into third round.

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Description: Sunil Chhetri and Anirudh Thapa celebrating a goal in their group match against Thailand at 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Can Hima Das sustain the weight of expectations? The talented athlete won admiration for her gold run but unrealistic expectations of masses and media can put her in the spot.

Vishal Uppal explores the culture of over expectation and frenzy in India and how it harms the sports.

Indian sprinter Hima Das won five gold medals in July in International Athletics events. She gained appreciation from masses of the country that has yet to see an individual athletic gold medal in Olympics. Tweets and social media posts from masses and celebrities raised bar of expectations that will weigh heavily on her shoulders. The 19-year-old athlete from Dhing village in Assam received congratulatory note from President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also received appreciation from noted cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar.

In a reply on twitter, She promised to work hard and bring more medals for India. She is one of the most talked name in Indian athletics after P. T. Usha and Milkha Singh.

Before we move with topic of expectations and frenzy, we must look at her commendable achievement that made her a recognizable name.

Hima won her first gold in 200m race on July 2. She clocked 23. 65 seconds to win the medal in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. She won her second gold in 200m race on July 8 at the Kutno Athletics Meet in the same country. She won her third gold in 200m race at the Kladno Athletics Meet in Czech Republic with a time of 23. 43 seconds. She won her fourth gold in 200m race at Tabor Athletics Meet and fifth gold on July 20 at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic in 400 m race, recording 52. 09 seconds on the clock.

This was a record haul for Hima Das in a single month in 2019. She won four gold medals in 200m, 400m and 400m relay format in 2018 from June to August.

Her brand value is also on upward path. She now fetches a fee of 6 million rupees per endorsement.

Considering her performance, the expectations of her performing in upcoming Athletic Meets is at an all-time high. People in India expect miracles from their sports persons and lashes at them for performance that may be even real on ground zero. Consider the backlash faced by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his batting in ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. People in India did not weigh the superior bowling attack from opposition and wished M S Dhoni to outperform in the game. The aftermath sometimes, reach to irrational levels. The frenzy created by media and propagated on social media is too hard on players. The masses do not hesitate to malign even the most credible players.

Hima's career best is still far off from the timings of the athletes that will compete in World Championships and later in Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

The people have to accept that she is still learning and needs training at best facilities in the world. The improvement takes time. She may even fail to qualify for events that are in higher pecking order. The people in India and media must act mature and understand the process that undergoes in training of athletes for competitive events. We have destroyed many sports persons through judgment that runs high on emotional octane. Those who ardently follow sports know that a tennis player who plays astonishingly well on grass court may be an average player on the clay court. Even in same format, we see a same player doing well on hard court in US Open and gasping for breath In Australian Open, This is also true for athletes. The climate in Poland and Czech Republic may have suited Hima Das but it could be a different affair elsewhere.

Hima Das is highly talented but she is still not the best on the bigger stage. We must let her find the purpose and drive to win. We must judiciously use social media. Her wins are an inspiration for generations and her losses are a reality check for her to do better. We must stand by her on her journey to greatness.

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