Meet the mentors of our women Olympians

After PV Sindhu, Dipa Karmakar and Sakshi Malik did India proud at the Rio Olympics, and Vinesh Phogat won the Arjuna Award recently, there was a joke that did the rounds on social media. It said that finally, it has been proved that there is a man behind every successful woman too! Jokes apart, the coaches of these four fabulous sportswomen, who happen to be men, have indeed played a vital role in their success story.They have been very strict when needed, but they have made as many sacrifices as their protégés. They have travelled the globe with these girls, offering constant support. They have stood by them solidly, when even their own relatives mocked their career choices. And most importantly, they have led by example. Here’s taking a look at their immense contribution:
Ishwar Dahiya (Coach of Sakshi Malik): When Sakshi took up wrestling in 2004, everyone said that her parents had committed a blunder by allowing her to choose such a sport. But Sakshi tells us, “Apart from my parents, Ishwar sir stood by me and asked me not to pay attention to what people were saying. I am indebted to him because he has taught me everything about wrestling. In fact, it was on his suggestion that I trained with boys too, which helped me tremendously in improving as a wrestler.”

Bishweshwar Nandi (Coach of Dipa Karmakar): When Dipa faced poor facilities, Nandi helped her by building training equipments with discarded scooter parts and other materials. And it was he who suggested that Dipa must try the Produnova vault to have a realistic shot at an Olympic medal. Like Gopi, Nandi travels the globe with Dipa and he had taken out the SIM card from her phone before the Olympic finals to ensure that she stayed focused. Dipa says, “Nandi sir is a father figure to me. At every big event, he takes the pressure off me and asks me to treat it just like a practice round.” Nandi, who has been coaching Dipa for 16 years, adds, “Initially, I would be scared whenever she tried the Produnova vault but her perseverance has started paying off. Dipa has put in years of tremendous hard work, and the sky is the limit if she keeps performing to her potential.”
Mahavir Singh Phogat (Coach and Uncle of Vinesh Phogat): While Vinesh lost her father at a young age, Mahavir, her father’s elder brother, never let her feel that void in her life, and she started living with his family as a kid. However, he was very strict when it came to training. Recalls Vinesh, “As a kid, I didn’t even want to get into wrestling, although I had discovered that I was good at it. But then, there was no running away from tauji (uncle), as he chased us with sticks if we didn’t want to train! But I am glad that he did that to us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been representing India today. I am glad that Bollywood is making a film on his life.”