Do Indian sports need domestic or foreign coaches? The debate rages on

Pullela Gopichand, who has crafted a success story as the coach of Saina Nehwal

“Since 2004, when India first hired a foreign coach, it has been a downward spiral for hockey in the country,” said hockey great Dhanraj Pillay in a recent television interview.

The recent firing of Michael Nobbs (amid claims that he resigned) as the coach of the Indian hockey team brought in yet another foreign coach, Australian Terry Walsh. Despite a string of inconsistent results, the administrators prefer to spend more money on foreign coaches than groom the coaches within the domestic circuit.

This is the case not just in hockey, but in almost all sports in India. A look at the coaching panel for the teams at India’s premier T20 cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, would stand as further testimony to this. In IPL 2013, not one Indian was the head coach of any of the 9 teams that were part of the cash-rich tournament.

As is the case in any debate though, there are two sides to the coin. Some may argue that foreign coaches are more professional, bringing in discipline and creativity, while others may be critical of the lack of opportunities given to Indian coaches to prove themselves at the international level. “Foreign coaches are professional in whatever they do, Indian coaches are still a bit amateurish,” says Mr C. Balasubramanian, a personal trainer who has worked with foreign trainers.

Pullela Gopichand, perhaps India’s most well-known coach at the world level currently, has been able to produce tremendous results with the Indian badminton team, with Saina Nehwal going on to win an Olympic bronze medal at the London Olympics. But Gopichand too in a recent interview credited his international exposure and his interactions with foreign coaches for his growth during his playing days. That exposure is undoubtedly proving fruitful at the coaching level as well.

According to Mr C. M. Narayanan, who runs the Triangle Tennis Trust academy in Chennai, “Foreign coaches give the trainees good international exposure, which is crucial in the younger years of an athlete.”

Indian athletics has had a string of foreign coaches, despite strong foundations for the athletes having been laid with the Sports Institute at Patiala. Currently, though, Indian athletics federation employs only three foreign coaches, and the powers that be are taking a more cautious approach after six Indian athletes who trained under Yuri Ogorodonik failed a dope test, bringing shame to the country.

The “Flying Sikh” Milkha Singh too has made his reservations about foreign coaches clear, stating that it is the foreign coaches who tend to get young athletes hooked to drugs.

Being a coach of a national team in India is undoubtedly a difficult job. Politics, red tape and corruption have made many foreign coaches turn the other way. Understanding the local culture and language proves to be a hindrance. But despite all these barriers, there have been numerous success stories.

Gary Kirsten, after helping India win the 2011 ICC World Cup

Take Gary Kirsten, for example. Being the head coach of the Indian cricket team is equivalent to being a lamb ready for slaughter. But he excelled, helping India win the 2011 World Cup after a gap of 28 years.

RussianVladimir Chertkov coached gymnast Ashish Kumar to a Commonwealth games bronze medal in 2010, while athletics coach Nikholay Snasraev was credited with the success of the middle distance runners at the Asian Games at Guangzhao.

That said, there is definitely no dearth for talent in our country. Groomed in the right way, and trained effectively, Indian coaches may well exceed at the international level. “It is a question of how Indian coaches are exposed at international level. Once Indian coaches are exposed enough, definitely they can deliver as good as a foreign coach,” adds Mr. Balasubramian.

In today’s sports arena, coaches are required to produce consistent results week in week out, and to do that they need adequate external support. But the Government incentives for players to turn into coaches in India are poor, and the treatment meted out to the coaches is less-than-grand. For a country that is known to worship its gurus, this is a sad plight.

When the administrators can spend up to 20 crores on foreign coaches for the London Games, why Indian coaches are not given the same chance to prove themselves, is a million dollar question. Literally.