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Journalism of Courage
A punishment posting has proved quite rewarding. When NIS, Patiala8217;s football coach Dr SS Chawla got a transfer order to Kurali, a remote suburb near Chandigarh, disgusted with what he calls 8216;8216;office politics8217;8217;, he thought of quitting. But fortunately for Kurali he didn8217;t take the easy option and took it up as a challenge.
Call it coincidence or the fact that sporting success was somehow fated for this town, Chawla and his athletics8217; coach wife Usha were followed by another 8216;coach couple8217;. Family circumstances forced weightlifter Devinder Sharma and hockey Olympian wife Nisha to shift here. Suddenly for Kurali8217;s traditional sporting talent, which over the years had mostly gone untapped, expert guidance was now available in their backyard.
But this isn8217;t just a story about an initiative and the overwhelming response it received, but also about some amazing results. Dr Chawla, who started the Mehar Football Academy here, has a long list of star students. 8216;8216;Last year in the state under-19 junior team there were nine boys from this academy,8217;8217; he says proudly.
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8216;People did not take me seriously when I told them they should send their children for sports. Parents and school teachers told me it was a waste of time8217;
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If that doesn8217;t impress one, he talks about the big league. 8216;8216;We have produced many national players. Our boy Gurjinder Singh is with Salgaocar Club, Dharminder Singh Dhamma plays for BSF and Jaspreet turns out for Churchill Brothers,8217;8217; he says.
But all this has come after what Chawla calls a 8216;8216;very tough time8217;8217;. Adaptability and acceptability were the early hurdles he encountered. 8216;8216;People did not take me seriously when I told them to send their children for sports. Parents and school teachers told me how this will waste their time,8217;8217; he says.
But gradually things changed and so did the tone of the parents and teachers. Says Chawla with a smile: 8216;8216;They now talk about how sports activities channelise the students8217; energies.8217;8217;
So what is the secret of their success? Hockey coach Nisha Sharma has an answer: 8216;8216;Like in any sport on the field this too involves team effort.8217;8217; In a modest way she underplays the role of the coaches and talks about the co-operation of Chakwal National Senior Secondary School and Khalsa Senior Secondary School.
8216;8216;The schools not only released their students but provided the infrastructure and playgrounds. Besides, the government too chipped in,8217;8217; she says.
But there are people who appreciate the work done by these coaches. 8216;8216;We owe them our gratitude. They are doing a great job in moulding our students to excel on the sporting fields,8217;8217; says SN Verma, principal, Chakwal National Senior Secondary School.
Nisha8217;s husband Devinder too has a lot many things to talk about after being here. 8216;8216;Last year one of my trainees 8212; Balbir Kaur 8212; won the junior state weightlifting championship. She also secured second position in the All India Rural Sports tournament,8217;8217; he says.
Devinder also adds that since it requires about three to five years to train a good lifter there are potential stars training under him who can make it big in the future.
