Badminton Coach Education Programme commences today in Hyderabad

(L-R) Nandan Kamath, Managing Trustee GoSports Foundation; T P S Puri , Vice-President, BAI; Venugopal Mahalingam, BWF Technical Expert; Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach

Hyderabad - The Pullela Gopichand Academy is playing host to the week-long intermediate level coach training programme conducted by the Badminton Association of India, in partnership with GoSports Foundation. A first-of-its-kind coach education initiative for badminton in the country, the programme, to be held between the 23rd & 30th March, has 35 coaches from across India participating.

The seven-day course that encompasses various aspects of badminton coaching begins on Saturday with introductory lectures by Badminton World Federation technical expert, Venugopal Mahalingam. In addition to the technical nuances of the game, trainee coaches will be exposed to intricacies of sport medicine, sports nutrition, sports psychology and conditioning. The sessions on technical aspects of badminton will be administered by Venugopal Mahalingam, national coach Pullela Gopichand, Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan and other senior Indian coaches. Other experts involved with conducting the programme include conditioning expert Jagmohan Singh, sports medicine expert Dr. Ashok Ahuja, nutrition expert Mr. Venkatraman, sports psychologists Dr. Asis Goswami and Dr. Sanjeev Sahni and Physiotherapist Dr. Kiran. With the classes being conducted at the state-of-the-art Pullela Gopichand Academy, the coaches will also get a glimpse into the daily training routines of top players like Saina Nehwal, Kashyap and young Sindhu.

On the successful completion of the course, the selected coaches will be accredited by the BAI to conduct National Development Programmes/National Coaching Camps. “We have seen India emerge as a strong force in World Badminton over the last couple of years, with Indians being ranked amongst the top players in the world. To sustain this momentum, we have to look at building a strong structure for the development of the sport in India, and training the coaches is a vital step in this direction. Working in tandem with the GoSports Foundation for this programme, we are hoping that we can assist coaches to update their knowledge and broaden their approach to coaching,” opined Mr. TPS Puri, Vice-President, BAI.

BWF Technical Expert Venugopal Mahalingam addressing the coaches

In a unique model of alliance between a private foundation and a sporting federation, GoSports Foundation is responsible for the implementation and execution of the programme, while the BAI is overseeing the training modules and assessment of the coaches completing the programme.

Speaking about their approach to train the coaches to help strengthen the sporting ecosystem around the junior players in the country, Mr. Nandan Kamath, Managing Trustee at the GoSports Foundation said, “Having aided the development of junior talent since 2008, we have noticed that the need of the hour in the country is the professional identification and nurturing of high potential talent available in a given sport. This is a task that, we believe, can be fulfilled through the implementation and development of a potent coaching infrastructure in the country and through capacity building amongst those developing our junior talent.”

Though there are several training camps for players, such platforms for coaches to develop their skills and share coaching techniques are rare. “This is a wonderful initiative by the GoSports Foundation and Badminton Association of India. Personally, I think that this is a great opportunity for us to interact with other coaches and share our knowledge and experiences. Training more coaches will help build more centres of excellence and impact the sport at the grassroots level,” said national coach Pullela Gopichand, sounding positive about this training initiative.