Dronacharya award should be scrapped: Akhil
If we go by tradition, Guru Dronacharya spotted Arjuna. But the current system is so appalling that players have a big say in nominating. AKHIL KUMAR, India boxer
NEW DELHI: Akhil Kumar, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist in boxing, said the Dronacharya award, presented to the country’s top coaches in different disciplines, has lost its sanctity and should be scrapped.
“The country’s most prestigious sports awards have been riddled with controversies. Every year there is one controversy or the other. Either the system should be transparent or it should be quashed,” Akhil Kumar said on the sidelines of the launch of the inaugural edition of KD Jadhav Memorial Kushti Championship on Friday.
Akhil Kumar, who had lost in the quarterfinal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, said: “If we go by tradition, Guru Dronacharya spotted Arjuna. But the current system has become so appalling that top players have a big say in nominating Dronacharya.”
‘ONE COACH’
“Guidelines should be revamped and one sportsperson should be allowed to recommend only one coach in his or her lifetime. There have been cases where one athlete has recommend names of different coaches every year for Dronacharya and the ministry has accepted all the recommendations,” Akhil Kumar said.
Incidentally, this year Sakshi Malik, bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics, has recommended two coaches — Kuldeep Malik and Mandeep Singh — for Dronacharya. But since the panel headed by Pullela Gopichand wasn’t able to reach a consensus, both names were rejected. Kumar, who recently made his debut in professional boxing, also said, the system of awarding points to the national sports awards winners should be made public.
However , India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bhindra, who was also present, didn’t want to be get dragged into the debate. When asked who was his main coach who guided him to the pinnacle of his sporting career, he said ‘several’. “My new book is coming. There is a mention of all the coaches who have helped me reach the zenith of my career,” he said.