Paddy Upton

MS Dhoni of India bats during the first One Day International ( ODI ) between India and Sri Lanka held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on the 10th December 2017. (Sportzpics)

From the vault: How did MS Dhoni ensure no Team India player was late for team meetings?

April 02, 2025 2:50 pm

With Dhoni at the helm, India had won the ICC Cricket World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in 2011

Gukesh was remarkably fresh, while Ding looked tired: Paddy Upton

December 18, 2024 10:08 am

Paddy Upton, the mental training coach reveals Gukesh's strategy during the World Chess Championship.

Paddy Upton: ‘Gukesh studied the whole book to prepare for world championship… right down to minutest detail’

December 14, 2024 7:11 am

The mental training coach and his team prepared the Indian teenager for every scenario he could experience at the World Championship. They also pored over minute details like what he should do when Ding is spending time thinking about his moves and what the teen should do in his downtime.

(LEFT) Gukesh with his trainer Grzegorz Gajewski at the Norway Chess tournament. (RIGHT) Paddy Upton.

‘Working with Gukesh an absolute blessing’: Paddy Upton, who helped India win 2011 World Cup

October 30, 2024 7:44 am

Mind guru Paddy Upton talks to The Indian Express about working with Gukesh. "We've had conversations around underestimating vs over-respecting your opponent. Gukesh is preparing to meet best version of Ding Liren that has ever been around."

Upton's role is to help Gukesh achieve an ideal mental state where at the World Championship. (FIDE/File)

Gukesh brings mind guru Paddy Upton on board in battle against Ding Liren

October 29, 2024 11:44 pm

Before this, Upton had worked with the 2011 Cricket World Cup-winning Indian team and the Indian hockey team which won a bronze medal at the recent Paris Olympics.

How a ‘genuinely scary’ trip to Alps in Switzerland set up by Paddy Upton helped India beat Australia in hockey

August 05, 2024 8:17 am

Mental coach Upton says players stopped giving too much ‘respect’ to opponents, stayed away from social media, and were given clear game plans.

FIH Hockey Pro League: How Hardik Singh, India's midfield dynamo, found his resolve again with help from Paddy Upton

February 21, 2024 9:45 pm

'My motto is simple: If I have to sacrifice myself to help my teammate, then I am happy to do that,' says Hardik Singh. The midfielder is here, there and everywhere for Craig Fulton's India.

Paddy Upton unlocks what it takes mentally to bat long in Test cricket

February 11, 2024 10:18 am

'There is a difference between attention focus in T20 Cricket and Test cricket. In T20 cricket the intensity of focus is high and it is a broad focus. In Tests, the focus needs to be regulated,' Paddy Upton tells The Indian Express.

Paddy's field work: Blending Indian hockey's silent and aggressive warriors, defanging opponents into shirt colours & brainstorming in Hindi

December 19, 2023 8:03 am

Indian men's hockey is a real-life Big Boss show, with players taking daily challenges and judged every second. Mind guru Paddy Upton is helping this vividly mercurial bunch with bent sticks find equilibrium while forging an Indian style.

After selectors, BCCI not to renew Upton's contract

November 26, 2022 7:07 am

The 53-year-old Upton was roped in by the BCCI this July after head coach Rahul Dravid requested for a mental conditioning coach keeping the T20 World Cup in mind.