Punjab has seen quite a lot of positive development over the years in the promotion of sports but there remain quite a few obstacles to overcome to fully unlock its potential.
“As far as performance and facilities go, the sport has evolved a lot. But as a sportsperson, I feel with a little help from the administration, a lot more can be done,” said Avneet Kaur Sidhu, Asian Games medallist in shooting, while speaking on ‘Punjab Fuelling India’s Sporting Dreams’ at the Sportstar ‘Focus Punjab’ Sports Conclave here.
“The Punjab government has tried to improve infrastructure facilities but there are a lot of things left to be done. We have to see if its proper utilisation is being done or not,” Rajinder Singh, former Indian hockey player and coach, said.
“The main issue is the calibre of the coaching education. I think we have not put our work in this direction. We have to put our efforts toward this issue, providing them with opportunities for advanced training, so that Punjab and Indian hockey will develop,” he added.
Saravjit Singh, Special Chief Secretary, Sports explained that the government is doing its best in ensuring that the best coaches are available to train aspiring athletes.
“We are working in the right earnest in this direction and the government is alive to the need. We had only 300-350 coaches. That number went up eight times straight away,” he said.
“We have made a simple five-step process to select a coach where physical fitness is a core part so that they can inspire the next generation. The written examination will only be secondary,” he added.
Rajinder Singh, who began his tryst with coaching in 2001, explained the need to arrive at solutions for the issues existing in the system with an example. “I noticed that there is only one representative from Punjab in the Indian women’s hockey team. This is an area I thought we needed to focus on and we have started two residential centres for the girls,” he said.
“We are working for Punjab. If hockey develops in Punjab, it will develop in India. Punjab hockey is the backbone of India,” he added.
I fully agree that the feeder system, the base of the pyramid must be fully nourished. The stability comes because of a wide base,” Saravjit said.
“Right now I think we are focussing on the glamour part of the sports event. Nobody wants to do the donkey labour, the leg work at the very base. That’s where the stars are produced,” he opined.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist and Olympian Anjum Moudgil also echoed similar comments. “I have been representing Punjab since 2017. I have seen quite a bit of positive change since then,” she said.
“If the Government of Punjab really respects the senior athletes and gives them financial and other securities, that’s when the youth will be inspired to join sports,” she added.
Avneet explained the benefit of inculcating the culture of sports, which the residents of Punjab pride themselves on, in the younger generation.
“My daughter is facing the same challenges I faced 24 years ago. That tells us where we are. We need to channel the energy of the youth towards sport and most of the other problems like crime and drugs can be handled,” she said.
Dronacharya Awardee and veteran hockey player and coach Sarpal Singh also gave his insights.
“We have the talent in our country to do a commendable job if we work together. Many academies have opened, many coaches have been appointed and we are taking care of things like nutrition more carefully,” he said.
“We have very good football, tennis and hockey potential. I am hopeful that we will achieve good results for both the boys and girls,” the 93-year-old added.
The conclave was held in association with Hero Motocorp, Indian Oil, Punjab Government, Great Sports Tech, KPMG, and NewsX.
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