Teachers' Day: Gaurav Khanna - the man relentlessly working behind the scene to lift India's Para Badminton

Gaurav Khanna - the man relentlessly working behind the scene to lift India's Para Badminton (X/SAI_Lucknow_)

On Teachers' Day, it is time to pause and appreciate the work that some of our coaches do or have done, on and with our Para athletes over the last few years. May be that’s why Sumit Antil, soon after winning the gold medal in Paris, had put it around the neck of his coach as a gesture of appreciation for all the hard work that was done behind the scenes. May be for the same reason Sheetal Devi decided to dedicate the 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. When Palak faced the issue with the bone tumour, many had written her off. But then that’s where the coaches job becomes the most important. If I tell her as coach that she can surely make a comeback, she will feel better and think not all is lost,” said Gaurav Khanna, Head Coach of the Para Badminton team. “Gaurav sir was god sent. He mentored me at my worst and may be that’s why I am back playing and managed to get to Paris for the Paralympics,” said Palak.

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“Coaches aren’t there just to mentor or teach. You need to identify talent and then convince them to hone it,” says Gaurav Khanna referring to Suhas Yathiraj. “I was actually DM of Azamgarh when there was a competition organised in my area. 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,” said Suhas.

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. 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,” said Sheetal.

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“As coaches you live this life. 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,” says Gaurav Khanna.

To every coach, on Teachers 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 going ahead to become a stronger sporting nation.