5 coaches who have turned things around for Indian sports

#5 Satpal Singh, Wrestling

Satpal Singh has made a great contribution in popularizing Wrestling in the country again

India’s love affair with wrestling is ages old. However, the digital era had made the seduction of cricket and other spectator sports so irresistable that wrestling gradually took a backseat for Indians. The sport, like shooting, needed icons to reclaim its old glory. And 3 medals in two Olympics have helped it do just that.

But behind those three medals, there was one name – that of Satpal Singh fondly referred to as Mahabali Satpal. A formidable force on the mat himself and a star of India’s wrestling scene in the 70s and 80s, Satpal’s akhada now trains many starry-eyed young wrestlers, who, inspired by Bhaiya Sushil (Kumar) and Yogeshwar Dutt feat, want nothing less than an Olympic medal.

Satpal has fought obstructive bureaucracy and public apathy for the sport to help his wards successfully make the transition from akhadas to the Olympic mat. His achievements have found due recognition and he has been awarded Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, Padma Shri and also Padma Bhushan, making him clearly the most decorated of Indian coaches.

Rio might not have been the brightest point of Indian wrestling, thanks to ugly controversies, but some hope still rests on Yogeshwar to life the pall of gloom possibly with a medal.