Give recognition to trainers, says coach

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, June 10

Having trained two Olympians, eight Asian Games medal holders, three winners of Punjab’s prestigious Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award and various national and inter-university athletes, Sarabjit Singh Happy’s name is reckoned among the top sports coaches of the region.

His trainee Gurinderbir Singh of Bhogpur has created history last month by winning the first gold medal from India in 100-m race in the Asian Youth Athletics Championship. Gurinderbir holds the tag of Asia’s fastest sprinter having finished the race in 10.77 seconds.

Coach Happy has been giving training in athletics since 1997 and his trainees are now either getting various scholarships or have made an entry into various departments, including ONGC, Punjab Police, Railways, BSF, FCI and Punjab Excise and Taxation on the basis of sports quota.

Two Olympians Gurmeet Singh and Ajay Raj Singh have taken training under him. The coach says, “In 1996, I lost my coach who died in the Ferozabad rail accident. I too suffered injuries and no coach was provided to us after that. Since then, I started giving training to others, and my passion to make others learn helped me become a successful coach.”

Coach Happy, working on a contract basis with the Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS) as a sports coach, is himself a gold medalist in senior national 4X400m relay races and gold medalist in junior national loom walk.

“I feel honoured when my trainees perform well and bring medals, trophies and certificates for the state. But it hurts too when as coaches we are given no recognition by the state government for preparing the students. We give our days and nights. We work really hard from maintaining student’s fitness to sometimes making their parents realise their talent. Though we satisfy ourselves with our trainees doing great and making us proud, still I feel the government should frame some policies that provide recognition to coaches and trainers across the country,” shared Happy.

Navjot Kaur, a national-level athlete who took coaching from Happy, said, “My coach has always asked me to keep two things in mind: My final destination and my dream. He taught me to never lose hope and keep my eyes on the final destination and give my 200 per cent to achieve that at any cost.”

The coach has also produced a film named “Junoon-ek-Soch” last year in September that is inspired by the ideologies of Bhagat Singh and was meant to promote sports in the state. It depicted the struggle made by an athlete from his childhood to the day he became an international icon.