Dronacharya of UP hockey “Pandit Ji” passes away
Dronacharya of Uttar Pradesh hockey Pandit Ram Awtar Mishra died at a hospital in Lucknow on Thursday. He was 89. “He died at around 1:30 in the wee hours today at the medical college,” close family friend and table tennis coach Parag Agarwal said.
Ram Awtar Mishra was regarded as one of the greatest hockey coaches to have produced over two dozen Olympians, World Cuppers and Indian captains. He had been battling a brain related problem after he fell at his home in Vikas Nagar last week.
He was first admitted to a private hospital on March 22. Then, he was shifted to the medical college early this week where he breathed his last. His youngest son Prashant Mishra, a national level paddler had succumbed to heart failure a few years ago. His grandson had died at the age of just 20 recently.
Ram Awtar Mishra was a full-back in his time. Better known as “Pandit Ji”, the senior Mishra remained the chief hockey coach at the state government-run Guru Gobind Singh Sports College here.
During his stint in the 80s, he produced several great players, including Olympian MP Singh, Jagbir Singh, RP Singh, Rajneesh Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Rakesh Tandon and Shamshul Zuha. At one time, the 18-member Indian junior squad had 14 trainees of Ram Awtar Mishra.
“Whatever I am today, it’s only because of Pandit Ji, who taught me everything in the sport,” recalls MP Singh, who played for India at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after winning a bronze medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games.
“His coaching vision was unique. He always taught us hockey “dil se” (from his heart). Whenever I needed support, he always stood by me and even helped me get hockey sticks with his resources,” said MP Singh. “I have never seen such passion for coaching in anybody else,” he added.
He, however, expressed regret that he couldn’t do anything for his “Guruji”. “Yes, I couldn’t do anything for him in terms of getting an award, but there were many players, who too could do little in this direction,” said MP Singh, who played for India as a full-back.
Even after his active hockey career, Pandit Ji remained in touch with the sport and kept coaching the youngsters. Pandit Ji never missed even a single match of the Hockey Premier League as well as the AllIndia KD Singh ‘Babu’ Hockey tourney.
“I didn’t know much about hockey when I joined Sports College as I was a football player and had a silver medal at the sub-junior nationals then. But when Pandit Ji saw me for the first time, he said “Thakur tum khel logey hockey” (Singh you will be able to play hockey),” said RP Singh, who represented India in the World Cup and Asian Games.
“I was one of the most disciplined trainees of Pandit Ji at the sports college. His style of coaching, especially inspiring a player to excel, was unique. His death is a big loss to UP hockey as his contribution to the sport in the state as well as in the country is unforgettable,” said RP Singh, who is also UP’s director sports as well as secretary of UP Hockey.
Drag flick specialist and former India captain Rajneesh Mishra, too, praised Ram Awtar Mishra. “I was just roaming about at a city crossing in the evening and wasting my time when Panditji spotted me. He took me to the college and taught me the meaning of wasting time. Since then, it became a lesson for me,” said Rajneesh, who is the chief selector of UP hockey.
Former and present sportspersons, including hockey Olympians, paid rich tributes to Ram Awtar Mishra during his last rites at Bhainsa Kund on Thursday afternoon.