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4 teachers India must salute this Teachers' Day

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DailyBiteSep 05, 2016 | 20:59

4 teachers India must salute this Teachers' Day

This Teachers' Day, India's steely sporting gurus deserve a special mention.

Undeterred by the irresponsible and embarrassing behaviour of their sports administration, our contingent at Rio Olympics 2016 did the country proud (despite Vijay Goel's wild histrionics). 

And had it not been for some of the most dedicated sporting gurus, India would have returned empty-handed.

It is true that a country stands a chance to shine at international sporting events such as the Olympics when the players outdo themselves. But India's talent would have crumbled if their proverbial backbone, their coaches, had failed to mentor them to lead from the front. 

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Here are few names to whom India owes its sporting icons: 

1. Pulella Gopichand: He is being touted as the new-age Dronacharya after badminton players PV Sindhu and K Srikanth's dream run at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and rightly so. An ace badminton player himself, Gopi Sir, as he is fondly called, is said to have been the just right combination of patience, selflessness and aggression, as a tough taskmaster.

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P Gopichand with PV Sindhu. (Photo: PTI) 

A teacher is known through the achievements of his pupils and the many who try their racquet and luck at the Gopichand Badminton Academy know this all too well. One of his students Aravind Bhat, says Gopichand believes that training should never be comfortable; it should be killing if the match has to look effortless.

2. Bisweswar Nandi: Coach to the Golden Girl of Tripura, Dipa Karmakar, Bisweswar Nandi is on top of the world. After his protégé's scintillating performance at the Rio Olympics vault finals this year, Nandi has been conferred with the Dronacharya Award. After being received as a hero in hometown Agartala, Nandi said in an interview that his next goal was to prepare Dipa for Tokyo Olympics 2020. There was no time to rest.

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Dipa Karmakar with B Nandi. (Photo: PTI)

He says he is at the nation's service to discover and train as many budding gymnasts as possible so India gets more medals. Imagine his pride when Rio gold medal gymnast Simone Biles said the Produnova should now be called "Karmakar Vault".

3. Mahavir Singh Phogat: Soon to be immortalised on celluloid, Mahavir Singh Phogat is the son of the soil history will remember him for raising an army of Olympics-worthy women wrestlers. His contribution to the careers of daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari (who completed round 16 of women's freestyle 53kg wrestling at Rio 2016) and niece Vinesh Phogat (who qualified in women's freestyle 48kg wrestling at Rio 2016) remains unmatched in the Indian context.

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Mahavir Singh Phogat with daughters and nieces. (Photo: Vinesh Phogat's Twitter/@phogat_vinesh)

Hailing from Haryana, a state known too well for its skewed sex ratio, Phogat's "dhobi pachaad" training is one of the reasons for the region to celebrate women. Let there be more than one Sultan from the akhadas of Haryana.

4. Ishwar Dahiya: Kabirdas' doha "Guru Gobind dou khade kake laagoon paaye..." is what comes to mind when we talk about bronze-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik's coach Ishwar Dahiya. Rohtak's Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium Wrestling Academy's fortunes have turned since 2003, when a 13-year-old Sakshi entered its barely one-year-old grounds.

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A young Sakshi Malik with coach Ishwar Dahiya. (Photo credit: Google)

Dahiya must be lauded today because he stood by his promise to train girls to wrestle, and made them practise with boys; giving equal opportunities to the female athletes to stand and thwart difficulties.

Last updated: September 05, 2016 | 20:59
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