The Guru Shishya tradition from All England Open to Rio Olympics

 

Gurukuls in ancient India were centers of physical and mental growth with equal importance to both. However, the modern India has only witnessed acclamation and regard for academic teachers only. The field of sports and its coaches receive much less acknowledgment than the other fields.

India has produced heroic pairs of a teacher and his disciple when it comes to sports, right from dating back to the times when Dronacharya taught archery to Arjuna. In the recent century, Ramakant Achrekar and Sachin Tendulkar, OM Nambiar and PT Usha, Ibomcha Singh and Mary Kom, Mahavir Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita Phogat are some of the pairs that have crafted history together.

When an athlete brings home the glory of an international medal, the entire nation rejoices the victory, and then there is this one person in the crowd, watching from afar a dream come true, a dream… whose seeds they had sown in a young passionate heart long ago, watering it with determination, grit and hard-work every single day. A dream… that was theirs, to be realized by an extension of their soul – their student, their disciple.
That one person is the teacher, the trainer, the master, the mentor, the guide, the guru…

 

August 19th 2016, India’s deserted streets stood testimonial to the fact that the entire nation had its eyes glued to their television sets. On the badminton court of Rio Olympics, our own shuttling star PV Sindhu was battling it out for the Gold against Carolina Marin. Sindhu was on the verge of achieving something remarkable -- she had single-handedly made the entire nation take an interest in a sport that they had ignored at their own peril. Though she didn’t get the gold, she carved a gold niche for herself in million hearts. The success was not hers alone to begin with. The success had its seeds in Pullela Gopichand’s victory of the men’s title at the All England Badminton Championships in 2001.

It was Gopichand’s win that made Sindhu choose badminton over volleyball, a game that her parents had aced, a game that had fetched her father the most prestigious Arjuna Award. She travelled 56 kilometers every day to get trained in badminton from professional coach Mehboob Ali but her dream was to train under Gopichand and her joy knew no bounds, when Gopichand agreed to take her under his wings. She was just nine then.

Gopichand’s students are well aware of his discipline. His day begins at about 4 in the morning. He personally monitors every players regime, diet and training. Apart from Sindhu, he’s training Saina Nehwal and Shrikant Kidambi too, both spectacular stars themselves. But, he believes Sindhu is by far his toughest student who instills complete faith in him. In the Rio Olympics, she followed his advices to the T and sometimes even when she did not believe the trick, she did because her Gopi Sir said so. She discussed her strategies with him, to ensure she was thinking right, and he ensure on the other hand that she maintains her confidence, her fighting spirit.

Sindhu’s remarkable maturity has helped her take success in her stride. Her determination has brought consistency in her battles and she owes it all to Gopichand she says. We won’t list her medals here, we won’t count her matches. We won’t talk of her other victories absolutely and we won’t enumerate her losses. We just wish to showcase what coach Gopichand added to her game. His analysis of her opponents, his tips on changing her game plan, exploiting her smashes and encouraging her defence, everything put together he has worked on her mental and physical strength.

The teacher and his pupil have to be hand-in-glove with each other completing and complementing each other’s thoughts. What one designs, the other decodes. What one envisages, the other executes. What one plans, the other plays and that makes them the winning combination. She has grace and dignity; he has mind power and plan. She has age by her side, he has experience to add. She has the determination and grit, he has her destination carved. Together This Teacher and his Pupil are going to make History. India wishes Coach Gopichand a very happy teachers day.