‘Finding good coaches, not players,is a challenge before Indian sports’

Lucknow: The challenge before Indian sports is the crisis of good coaches, and not talented players, feels India’s first Paralympic gold medallist, Padma Shri Murlikant Petkar.

“Student Acchey Hai Lekin Coach Acche Nahi (There is no dearth of good students but finding a good coach is a problem), said Petkar, 84, while addressing students and teachers during the convocation ceremony of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University (DSMNRU) on Friday.

Impressed with the sprawling campus, spread over 121 acres of land, Petkar said that the swimming pool was missing on DSMNRU and the university authorities must do the needful.

Petkar had clinched an individual gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics held in Heidelberg, Germany, by establishing a world record in the 50 m freestyle swimming event with a timing of 37.33 seconds, a feat that remains unbroken to this day.

“Despite being 84-year-old, I still yearn to secure another medal for the nation. I adorned myself with the gold medal and my defence service medals to provide you with an opportunity to witness them and be inspired to have similar medals adorning you one day,” Petkar told students.

Sharing his life’s journey, Petkar revealed that he participated in multiple sports at the Paralympics, securing a gold medal in swimming while also competing in javelin, precision javelin throw, and slalom, where he was a finalist in all three events.

“I was the first male from my state, Maharashtra, to secure a gold medal at the Paralympics, while Deepa Malik was the first Indian woman to win a medal in the Paralympic Games. I urge all of you to draw inspiration, be courageous, and strive to win medals for the nation,” Petkar exhorted.

He advised parents not to pressurise students under the age of 14 to pursue careers as doctors, engineers, or other professions, emphasising the importance of allowing them to determine their own life paths.