It’s Teacher’s Day today, and a teacher is someone who guides their students towards excellence. Students don’t always have to be in a classroom; every player in the world is a student of their coach, who helps them achieve medals and trophies. We often hear about iconic player-coach duos, such as Manu Bhaker and Jaspal Rana, Sachin Tendulkar and Ramakant Achrekar, and PV Sindhu and Pullela Gopichand. We know these duos well, but as the Paralympic season is ongoing, let’s take a look at the player-coach partnerships in Indian para-sports.
Gaurav Khanna
Gaurav Khanna, a dedicated badminton coach, has helped numerous Indian para-badminton players achieve their dreams. Notably, he coached Nitesh Kumar to win a gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. He has also inspired many players to take up badminton and become champions.
In the late 1990s, while serving in the police, Khanna introduced badminton to hearing-impaired street children. Later, he established the Drona Paralympic House in Lucknow, which has produced over 800 medals for India. His immense contribution to para-badminton earned him the Dronacharya Award in 2020 and the Padma Shri in 2024.
Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar
Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar represented India in para-powerlifting at three Paralympic Games: Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), and Sydney (2000). After retiring, he began coaching and mentored several world-class para-powerlifters. One of his students, Rajinder Singh Rahelu, won a bronze medal in the 56kg category at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. As a civil engineer, Munishwar received the Shiv Chhatrapati Award and the Dadoji Konddeo Award. His crowning achievement came in 2020 when he was honoured with the Dronacharya Award.
Satyapal Singh
From 1993 to 2003, Dr. Satyapal Singh consistently competed in national and state-level events, winning several medals. Currently, Dr. Singh is the head of the Target Olympic Medal Sports Academy. After retiring from athletics, he earned a PhD in Sports and Athletics and transitioned to working with athletes and sports administration. As the coach of the Indian Para-athletics team, he led the contingent to 35 international competitions, including the 2008 and 2016 Paralympics, Asian Games (2010, 2014, 2018), and Commonwealth Games (2010). Under his guidance, the team won one silver and four bronze medals at the 2011 International Blind Sports Federation World Championship in Turkey and one gold and four silver medals at the 2010 Asian Para Games in China. Dr. Singh was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2012.
Suma Siddharth Shirur
Suma Siddharth Shirur set a joint world record in the 10m air rifle event at the 2004 Asian Games. After securing medals at the Busan and Doha Asian Games, as well as the Manchester and Delhi Commonwealth Games, she transitioned to coaching. Her coaching career peaked in 2020 when she guided Avani Lekhara to win gold and bronze medals in the SH1 10m rifle and SH1 50m 3-position rifle events at the Paralympics. For her remarkable contributions, Suma was conferred the Dronacharya Award in 2022.
R.D. Singh
R.D. Singh was destined to excel in sports. During his early years, he participated in various sports, including track and field, weightlifting, and volleyball. His coaching career began while serving as a Physical Education Director at a college. Under his leadership, over 500 athletes competed in the India Inter-University Games. Singh is also credited with discovering Devendra Jhajharia at a school competition in 1997, who later won a Paralympic gold medal in 2004. For his significant contributions to para-sports, Singh was honoured with the Dronacharya Award in 2007.
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