Top 8 Indian Coaches: The Stars Behind The Stars | KreedOn

The date, 5th September, plays an important role in everybody’s life, be it an athlete, a student, or the one who has completed his education. The birthday of Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India. The Sanskrit shloka-‘Mata Pita Guru Daivam’, rightly defines the importance of teachers in our culture, meaning- “Mother, father, teachers are Gods”. Today, team KreedOn remembers the importance of teachers and coaches, and let’s celebrate their contribution to our lives. Here’s a complete list of the top 8 Indian coaches who are responsible for the success of our favorite sporting icons. They are the real stars behind the stars.

Complete list of Top Indian Coaches

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Ramakant Achrekar (Cricket): Sachin Tendulkar Coach

Late Ramakant Achrekar was a Mumbai-based Indian coach of cricket. He is responsible for the upbringing of one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Sachin Tendulkar. Born in Maharashtra, Achrekar quickly realized that he was not fit for playing the game at the competitive level. He never found a place in the first-class cricket team and as a result, he decided to pursue his passion through coaching young cricketers. Ramakant Achrekar began cricket coaching in 1964, he was determined to nurture India’s future cricket heroes, and since then he never looked back. He is truly one of the greatest Indian Coaches.

The man established his coaching center at Shivaji Park, and very soon his academy went on to produce and train special talents like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. In 1990, he was honored with the Dronacharya Award for his services to cricket coaching. He was also honored with Padma Bhushan and Lifetime Achievement award presented to him by the then Indian Cricket Coach Gary Kirsten.

Pullela Gopichand: Saina Nehwal Coach, PV Sindhu Coach-Indian Coaches

Pullela Gopichand is one of the most celebrated former Indian badminton players and top Indian coaches. Currently, he is the Head Coach for the Indian Badminton team. Gopichand, the former All England Badminton Championship winner, is at present training the best shuttlers of India, the thing which he had always been starved of. Technical knowledge, professional experience, game planning, zeal, and an incredible off-court mentality make Gopichand one of the best Indian Coaches. He works incredibly hard for the success of each and every student. He is always the first one to reach the academy and the last one to leave. It is due to his determination and hard work that India is back on the Olympic podium. Gopichand was the man behind Saina Nehwal’s bronze medal victory in the 2012 London Olympics and PV Sindhu’s silver medal in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

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Bisweshwar Nandi: Dipa Karmakar Coach- Indian Coaches

Bisweshwar Nandi along with his student Dipa Karmakar has brought gymnastics to the limelight in India. Recently, Bisweshwar Nandi was honored with the Dronacharya award. It is to be noted that he is only the second gymnastics coach to be conferred the country’s most prestigious coaching award given to Indian coaches. He has trained Dipa since she was the age of 6, Nandi has helped Dipa master the ‘Produnova – the vault of death’ – which most of the gymnasts don’t even attempt. She, unfortunately, missed the medal at the Rio Olympics, but it’s really commendable that she stood 4th in the world. The efforts of Bisweshwar Nandi and Dipa Karmakar have brought India on the gymnastics map in the world!

Satpal Singh: Sushil Kumar Coach- Indian Coaches

Satpal Singh, popularly known as Mahabali Satpal, is one of the most respected and decorated Indian coaches. A former wrestler himself in the late 70s and 80s, Satpal Singh now trains many young wrestlers. Satpal Singh has trained Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, Olympic medal-winning wrestlers. He has been honored with the Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, Padma Shri, and also Padma Bhushan, making him one of the greatest Indian coaches of all time.

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OM Nambiar: PT Usha coach- Indian Coaches

He is the 1st ever winner of the Dronacharya award.

Being an AirForce officer, OM Nambiar always dreamt of wearing the India blazer as a sportsperson and winning medals for the country. However, destiny had something else planned for him. In 1976, Nambiar came to a School in Payyoli district of Kerala in the quest for sports talent. This was the time when he met PT Usha for the 1st time. He trained PT Usaha, popularly known as the ‘Payyoli Express’. It is due to the hard work of PT Usha and the brain of O M Nambiar, PT Usha could reach unprecedented heights in her career and won several medals for the nation.

Nambiar was very particular about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Throughout his life, he has criticized that Indian testing systems and standards. According to him, this was one of the reasons Indian athletes were not at par as compared to athletes from other countries. For his services to athletics as a coach, Nambiar was awarded the 1st ever Dronacharya Award.

L Ibomcha Singh: MC Mary Kom coach- Indian Coaches

He established a boxing academy in Manipur to train the youngsters from the state.

Ibomcha Singh himself was a National level boxer. He had won a gold medal in the national boxing championship in 1981. But that is not what brought fame to him. After he hung up his gloves, he began coaching young boxers in his home state of Manipur. Once Ibamcha said in an interview, the youth of the state took up boxing only because it will help them get a job in the Indian Army. To promote boxing as a profession in the state, he established his boxing academy. His academy and training methods soon began to show their results and started producing great boxers, who represented the state at the national level. He has trained one of the greatest boxers of all-time MC Mary Kom and Asian Games gold medalist Dingko Singh. Ibomcha Singh is an incredible Indian coach.

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Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu: Vijender Singh coach

Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu is the major man behind taking Indian amateur boxing to greater dimensions. He is a very respected Indian coach of all time.

He has achieved the rare feat of serving as the Indian national boxing coach for the longest tenure. Sandhu became the coach of the Indian national boxing team in 1993 for the 1st time. He has pursued a degree in boxing training from the National Institute of Sports in Jalandhar. Many times Sandhu has expressed his disappointment over the administrative mess that has prevailed in Indian boxing. However, his contribution to Indian boxing is unmatched. Three of his trained boxers reached the quarterfinals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, one of them being Vijender Singh, who became the 1st India to win an Olympic medal for India. Also, under his training, for the 1st time in Indian boxing history, 8 boxers qualified for the 2012 Olympics, the most in India’s history. Truly a legendary Sports coach.

Nihar Ameen

Nihar Ameen is a renowned Indian swimming coach. He is honored with the Dronacharya Award in the year 2015. Mr. Nihar Ameen is associated with the Dolphin Academy in Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bangalore. His coached athletes are the 1st Indians to qualify for the Olympics, Shikha Tandon at Athens, 2004 and Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal at Beijing Olympics, 2008.

In 1989-1992, Ameen was an assistant national team coach in the USA with Team Director and Olympic Coach, Jack Nelson.

Nihar Ameen is also a member of the panel of experts for GoSports Foundation, a sports non-governmental organization.

This brings us to the end of the Indian coaches’ journey. Who is your favorite amongst them all, what you feel about your teachers, coach, and your favorite memories, do share with us.

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